First day of school: A sunrise tradition, dancing robot, more computer science, and a special anniversary
Tuesday was the first day of school for thousands of students in dozens of districts, including these seniors at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington Station. Credit: James Carbone
This story was reported by Tiffany Cusaac-Smith, John Hildebrand, Joie Tyrrell and Dandan Zou. It was written by Zou.
Romel Farquharson, 17, hugged his classmates at Walt Whitman High School early Tuesday morning as they stood on the football field and waited for sunrise, an annual first-day-of-school tradition for the seniors.
The students were among tens of thousands who returned to Long Island classrooms Tuesday to begin the new academic year. A handful of the Island's 124 school districts opened last week, but most start this week.
The sunrise, mostly blocked by trees and clouds, was not as cinematic as Farquharson had imagined for his “last first day,” but that was OK.
“First day, seeing my friends, that's what I live on,” he said.
There were other firsts on Tuesday. In Franklin Square, third-graders welcomed Milo, a talking robot. In Deer Park, computer science classes premiered for middle schoolers.
It was also a day to honor the past: Second-graders marked the Valley Stream 30 school district’s founding 100 years ago by re-creating a photo taken in 1923.
“In 100 more years, the people are going to see the pictures that we took,” said Michael Parker, 6, who wore a bow tie, black vest and sparkly loafers for the occasion. “I wonder what kids are going to be here.”
Here are a few snapshots from the first day back.
Walt Whitman High senior Paul Chinsky, 17, was thinking about the more immediate future.
“At the end of this, I'm never going to be able to live this lifestyle again. … Just going to high school and going back home to my mom having some snacks prepared, some chicken nuggets warmed up in the microwave,” he said.
To his friend Farquharson, high school has been a great experience — except for ninth grade, what he called the “COVID year.”
“I kind of just fell off. I went ghost. I didn't talk to anyone. … It was just a dark year. I don't really remember too much. I don't like to remember too much,” said Farquharson, who noted that he has since bounced back. “My friends motivate me. They're like family.”
Principal John Murphy, who walked all over the field taking photos of students and posing with them in selfies, noted the "roller-coaster ride” of senior year: finishing ACT or SAT tests, waiting for college acceptance letters, and more.
“I'm nervous for them,” said Murphy, who has a son who's a senior. “I want them to reach their fullest potential. I want them to enjoy their entire senior year, you know?"
The first day was a perfect opportunity for a dance party at John Street elementary school, and the celebration was led by the newest addition to the classroom — Milo, a roughly 2-foot-tall robot.
Milo, with spiky brown, plastic-like hair, is a next-generation assistive robot that promotes a social-emotional curriculum for students. He made his debut in the Intensive Support Program classroom that serves children with special needs, including those diagnosed with autism.
"Hi, I’m Milo. It’s great to meet you," the robot greeted the students. He demonstrated how he can walk, close his eyes, wave his hands and even whistle. He asked the third-graders to follow along. He waved and they waved back.
“We tend to always look for those innovative tools that will help move the dial for our students,” said Franklin Square Superintendent Jared Bloom.
Milo comes from Texas-based company RoboKind. There are several such robots in school systems nationwide and internationally, representatives from the company said. Franklin Square is the first Long Island district to have the robot up and running in the classroom.
Milo comes with his own curriculum and corresponding lessons on video screens. He cost about $18,000, Bloom said.
Milo can slow his speech, so children — especially those who have challenges with speech — can follow more closely. School officials said he will travel among the three buildings of the prekindergarten-to-sixth-grade district, and social workers have been trained to use him.
On Tuesday, a small group of students watched as Milo demonstrated a lesson on proper social cues.
“I saw the students really engaged with Milo. They were excited to welcome something different into our classroom,” said special education teacher Alana Smith.
Classes in “Computer Science Exploration” debuted at Robert Frost Middle School, and teacher Cassidy Velle explained to her eighth-graders that yes, there would be quizzes, but the emphasis would be on completing digital projects.
“I want you to be very active. Ask me questions,” Velle told her class that will be taking the elective course on alternate days through the school year. “Have fun with it. Be creative.”
As in other Island districts, laptop computers and electronic tablets are becoming as familiar as pencils and erasers in this middle-sized system just south of the Huntington-Babylon border. All of Deer Park’s 3,900 students have been equipped with iPads or Chromebooks since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, and the number of computer science courses is growing.
“Introduction to Computer Science” opened at Deer Park High School in the 2020-21 school year, followed by a college-level “Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles” course the following year.
The Frost school now has two class sections of the “Exploration” course, and the district hopes to add a more elevated AP course at the high school next year.
Expansion, local school leaders said, should keep them ahead of state academic mandates. The Board of Regents, which sets much of the state’s academic policy, has decided that computer science standards covering grades K-12 should be in place throughout New York by next fall.
“It’s exciting,” said Christine Gill, who is Deer Park’s director of math and business for grades 6-12.
Jim Cummings, the district’s superintendent, who once taught computer skills himself, told “Exploration” students Tuesday: “We’re trying to prepare you for your future.”
A few days into the school year, second-graders walked out of the classroom Tuesday and onto the front steps of the Clear Stream Avenue School to modernize a moment in history.
The students, some squirming, chatting or blocking out the sun with their hands, focused for a moment to repeat a photo of the school's second-graders from 1923, the year the Valley Stream Union Free School District 30 and the flagship school started.
As the district celebrates 100 years, some aspects of it, the school and the two photos have changed, officials said, noticeably the students' style and the increased racial diversity.
The district was started out of concerns such as overcrowding, but what remains integral then and now is a strong sense of community, said Superintendent Roxanne Garcia-France.
“Although we've changed … that groundedness for what’s right for your community and your children, of advocacy and fighting, still exists to this day,” she said.
CORRECTION: Valley Stream 30 Superintendent Roxanne Garcia-France's name was misspelled in an earlier version of this story.
Romel Farquharson, 17, hugged his classmates at Walt Whitman High School early Tuesday morning as they stood on the football field and waited for sunrise, an annual first-day-of-school tradition for the seniors.
The students were among tens of thousands who returned to Long Island classrooms Tuesday to begin the new academic year. A handful of the Island's 124 school districts opened last week, but most start this week.
The sunrise, mostly blocked by trees and clouds, was not as cinematic as Farquharson had imagined for his “last first day,” but that was OK.
“First day, seeing my friends, that's what I live on,” he said.
There were other firsts on Tuesday. In Franklin Square, third-graders welcomed Milo, a talking robot. In Deer Park, computer science classes premiered for middle schoolers.
It was also a day to honor the past: Second-graders marked the Valley Stream 30 school district’s founding 100 years ago by re-creating a photo taken in 1923.
“In 100 more years, the people are going to see the pictures that we took,” said Michael Parker, 6, who wore a bow tie, black vest and sparkly loafers for the occasion. “I wonder what kids are going to be here.”
Here are a few snapshots from the first day back.
Walt Whitman High School seniors Romel Farquharson, left, and Jack Fischer got an early start to their last first day of school. Credit: James Carbone
Huntington Station: New year dawns
Walt Whitman High senior Paul Chinsky, 17, was thinking about the more immediate future.
“At the end of this, I'm never going to be able to live this lifestyle again. … Just going to high school and going back home to my mom having some snacks prepared, some chicken nuggets warmed up in the microwave,” he said.
To his friend Farquharson, high school has been a great experience — except for ninth grade, what he called the “COVID year.”
“I kind of just fell off. I went ghost. I didn't talk to anyone. … It was just a dark year. I don't really remember too much. I don't like to remember too much,” said Farquharson, who noted that he has since bounced back. “My friends motivate me. They're like family.”
Principal John Murphy, who walked all over the field taking photos of students and posing with them in selfies, noted the "roller-coaster ride” of senior year: finishing ACT or SAT tests, waiting for college acceptance letters, and more.
“I'm nervous for them,” said Murphy, who has a son who's a senior. “I want them to reach their fullest potential. I want them to enjoy their entire senior year, you know?"
Franklin Square: Meet Milo
The first day was a perfect opportunity for a dance party at John Street elementary school, and the celebration was led by the newest addition to the classroom — Milo, a roughly 2-foot-tall robot.
Milo, with spiky brown, plastic-like hair, is a next-generation assistive robot that promotes a social-emotional curriculum for students. He made his debut in the Intensive Support Program classroom that serves children with special needs, including those diagnosed with autism.
"Hi, I’m Milo. It’s great to meet you," the robot greeted the students. He demonstrated how he can walk, close his eyes, wave his hands and even whistle. He asked the third-graders to follow along. He waved and they waved back.
“We tend to always look for those innovative tools that will help move the dial for our students,” said Franklin Square Superintendent Jared Bloom.
Milo comes from Texas-based company RoboKind. There are several such robots in school systems nationwide and internationally, representatives from the company said. Franklin Square is the first Long Island district to have the robot up and running in the classroom.
Milo comes with his own curriculum and corresponding lessons on video screens. He cost about $18,000, Bloom said.
Milo can slow his speech, so children — especially those who have challenges with speech — can follow more closely. School officials said he will travel among the three buildings of the prekindergarten-to-sixth-grade district, and social workers have been trained to use him.
On Tuesday, a small group of students watched as Milo demonstrated a lesson on proper social cues.
“I saw the students really engaged with Milo. They were excited to welcome something different into our classroom,” said special education teacher Alana Smith.
Deer Park: Added computer science
Classes in “Computer Science Exploration” debuted at Robert Frost Middle School, and teacher Cassidy Velle explained to her eighth-graders that yes, there would be quizzes, but the emphasis would be on completing digital projects.
“I want you to be very active. Ask me questions,” Velle told her class that will be taking the elective course on alternate days through the school year. “Have fun with it. Be creative.”
As in other Island districts, laptop computers and electronic tablets are becoming as familiar as pencils and erasers in this middle-sized system just south of the Huntington-Babylon border. All of Deer Park’s 3,900 students have been equipped with iPads or Chromebooks since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, and the number of computer science courses is growing.
“Introduction to Computer Science” opened at Deer Park High School in the 2020-21 school year, followed by a college-level “Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles” course the following year.
The Frost school now has two class sections of the “Exploration” course, and the district hopes to add a more elevated AP course at the high school next year.
Expansion, local school leaders said, should keep them ahead of state academic mandates. The Board of Regents, which sets much of the state’s academic policy, has decided that computer science standards covering grades K-12 should be in place throughout New York by next fall.
“It’s exciting,” said Christine Gill, who is Deer Park’s director of math and business for grades 6-12.
Jim Cummings, the district’s superintendent, who once taught computer skills himself, told “Exploration” students Tuesday: “We’re trying to prepare you for your future.”
Second-graders at Clear Stream Avenue School re-create a photo taken when the school first opened 100 years ago. Credit: Danielle Silverman
Valley Stream: A happy 100th
A few days into the school year, second-graders walked out of the classroom Tuesday and onto the front steps of the Clear Stream Avenue School to modernize a moment in history.
The students, some squirming, chatting or blocking out the sun with their hands, focused for a moment to repeat a photo of the school's second-graders from 1923, the year the Valley Stream Union Free School District 30 and the flagship school started.
Second-graders at Clear Stream Avenue Elementary in 1923. Credit: Handout; Clear Stream Avenue Elementary
As the district celebrates 100 years, some aspects of it, the school and the two photos have changed, officials said, noticeably the students' style and the increased racial diversity.
The district was started out of concerns such as overcrowding, but what remains integral then and now is a strong sense of community, said Superintendent Roxanne Garcia-France.
“Although we've changed … that groundedness for what’s right for your community and your children, of advocacy and fighting, still exists to this day,” she said.
CORRECTION: Valley Stream 30 Superintendent Roxanne Garcia-France's name was misspelled in an earlier version of this story.
