{"id":116756,"date":"2026-01-29T22:35:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T22:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/116756\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T22:35:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T22:35:10","slug":"staten-island-school-to-receive-complete-auditorium-renovation-bp-fossella-announces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/116756\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island school to receive complete auditorium renovation, BP Fossella announces"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Borough President Vito Fossella announced Thursday that PS 8 in Great Kills will receive a fully renovated auditorium.<\/p>\n

According to Fossella, PS 8 is slated to receive a newly upgraded auditorium within 18 months.<\/p>\n

The theatre, Fossella described, will feature new seating, an upgraded sound system and updated facilities to support student performances. <\/p>\n

\"PSThe school’s auditorium will receive several upgrades.Advance\/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence<\/p>\n

Fossella emphasized that Staten Island students \u201cdeserve the best,\u201d and that the upgraded auditorium will allow children to shine even more during school performances. <\/p>\n

Fossella reaffirmed his long-standing support of performing arts in Staten Island schools by restating his hope to one day establish a high school for the performing arts. He noted the borough is the only one in the city without a dedicated performing arts high school.<\/p>\n

The announcement comes on the heels of the recently upgraded playground and basketball courts behind PS 8. <\/p>\n

Students expressed excitement about the new facilities, which are used almost every day of the week.<\/p>\n

\"PSBorough President Vito Fossella speaks to students.Advance\/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence<\/p>\n

The Borough President praised PS 8 Principal Lisa Esposito, calling her outstanding and deeply committed to the school, along with teachers and staff who \u201clove the students and want the best for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Esposito highlighted that the performing arts programs and events are a community-wide effort and a central part of PS 8\u2019s school culture.<\/p>\n

After the announcement, second through fifth graders from the after-school arts programs, Glee 8 and Center Stage, took to the deck. These programs have been running for 10 years, Program Director Alfred Venturino shared. They are free of cost and attract strong voluntary participation from students.<\/p>\n

The Frozen Above and Beyond performance featured over 50 students \u2014 26 from Center Stage and 27 from Glee 8 \u2014 on stage. All performers voluntarily attend rehearsal after school, demonstrating strong enthusiasm and commitment to the performing arts.<\/p>\n

Frozen Above and Beyond is based on the popular Disney movie, \u201cFrozen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PSStudents performed during Fossella’s visit.Advance\/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence<\/p>\n

Venturino, shared that students, whom he affectionately refers to as his \u201clittle co-directors,\u201d learn choreography and are given the helm of creative decision-making for the production.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy that the borough president is actually able to see it because the kids smiles today makes everything worth it,\u201d Venturino said. \u201cThey work hard. A lot of their moves come into play during this production. They\u2019re smiling, they stay with me, away from the technology a little bit. They\u2019re active, moving, and they\u2019re part of this, just like I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

He expressed gratitude to Principal Esposito for her support. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy that Mrs. Esposito allows us to put on a production like this,\u201d he said. \u201cShe gives a lot of insight on the decorations and really encourages students to be their best.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his visit to the school, Fossella spoke directly to the children, emphasizing the benefits of hard work and reminding them that they have the support of himself and the school.<\/p>\n

\"PSThe school will receive upgraded seating.Advance\/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to be given every opportunity to succeed. So like I said, \u2018Just try your best.\u2019 You\u2019re going to have good and bad days,\u201d Fossella said. \u201cKnow that you have a whole support system around here who love and care about you. They want nothing but the best for you, and it\u2019s up to you to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

PS 8\u2019s performance of Frozen Above and Beyond showcased the rhythm, movement and singing skills of each student who participated. <\/p>\n

Audiences were treated to renditions of Frozen\u2019s most popular songs such as \u201cLet it Go,\u201d \u201cFor the First Time in Forever\u201d and \u201cIn Summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PSStudents performed songs from “Frozen.”Advance\/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence<\/p>\n

The performance included special effects such as snow and light effects.<\/p>\n

After viewing the show, Fossella gave the children a stellar review.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything we can do to support PS 8, we will continue to do,\u201d Fossella said. \u201cAnybody on Staten Island having a bad day, can come by PS 8, sign the book, and watch these kids perform. They blew it away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PSFossella watches a student performance.Advance\/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Borough President Vito Fossella announced Thursday that PS 8 in Great Kills will receive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-116756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}