LAKE HUNTINGTON — Fourteen Sullivan West High School students walked out of their building at 10 am Wednesday to show solidarity with the students killed and injured one month ago in Parkland, Florida.

Their silent protest for 17 minutes coincided with tens of thousands of students across the country walking out at the same time.

Principal Mark J. Plescia kept a watchful eye on the students for their safety.

He talked about the 45-minute “town hall” meetings held with students earlier in the morning that included counselors and teachers, as well as class and student council officers. He said there were multiple groups of approximately 30 students in each.

“We couldn't ignore the events that have been going on around the country and we wanted to give them (students) a venue where they could voice their opinions…but also teach them to have a civil discourse,” Plescia said. “This country has been having some problems with that.”

The Town Halls were aimed, in part, at educating the kids on how to disagree with somebody respectfully and responsibly and teach them how to handle conflict as an adult, he said.

One mother of a student who did not want to be identified said Thursday that her child told her that there was no talk of the issue of guns or the Parkland massacre at all in her town hall meeting.

“They talked about fake news, sexual harassment and whether or not kids felt safe in the school but entirely skirted the elephant in the room,” the source said.

Plescia, though, noted that early feedback that he's received from the town halls were positive, adding that “we are looking to make these types of meetings part of our culture.” (At press time, the Democrat had not received any of that written feedback requested from the school).

In a letter sent to parents on March 5 and posted on the school's website, Plescia and assistant principal Scott Haberli wrote: “We, as a school and district, are not supporting a political stance but are working together to teach (students) how to actively listen and respond appropriately.”

The letter informing about the town halls contained no reference at all to the word “gun” or “guns” or what happened in Parkland - and referred only to “the recent incidents in Florida” and “current events.”

The March 5 letter also stated that “if students choose to voice their opinions by disrupting class time or the educational process, discipline may be administered.”

On Thursday, the principal said that some of the 7-12 graders who did walk out on Wednesday morning asked him if they would be in trouble - and said that he told them he “did not know.”

But Plescia told the Democrat Thursday morning that “at this time, nobody is being disciplined.” He further pointed out that disciplinary decisions are always a process. “We are going to sit down and see the best way to communicate with (their) parents and the kids. Politics aside, we are here to educate.”

Plescia noted that across the country, some schools were suspending kids for participating in the walkouts while other schools were facilitating them. He said that could send Sullivan West kids conflicting messages, too.

Some 50 students in Eldred participated in a walkout alongside the school principal and superintendent. “They stood in quiet reflection for 17 minutes and returned to class,” said Dr. John Morgano, superintendent of schools.

Before the walkout, school staff and administrators met with grades 7-12 about the purpose of the walkout being “in support of the slain people in Florida.”

“We told them we were very proud of them,” Morgano said.