LI students collect, donate items to keep those in need warm
Student Council members at East Broadway Elementary School in Seaford collected 11 bags of warm coats for those in need. Credit: Levittown School District
Many Long Island schools are helping families in need get through frigid temperatures by collecting and donating warm clothing.
In Elmont, students and faculty at Dutch Broadway Elementary School donated more than 150 winter hats, gloves and scarves to the Interfaith Nutrition Network in Hempstead. The items were collected during the first few weeks of December, with the school’s peer mediators displaying them on a “giving tree” in the lobby before delivery.
“It’s really good for students to learn to give back to the community,” Dutch Broadway social worker Fanny Iglesias said. “By participating in this collection, it reminded them to appreciate everything they have at home.”
In Seaford, Student Council members at East Broadway Elementary School in the Levittown district hosted a winter coat drive and filled 11 large bags. Meanwhile, the district’s Lee Road Elementary School in Wantagh collected about 30 coats for the Coats for Kids Foundation and the nonprofit Operation Warm.
In Bellmore, first-graders at Charles A. Reinhard Early Childhood Center collected 40 pairs of mittens and gloves for Bethany House in Roosevelt. The collection was inspired by a reading of “The Mitten Tree” by Candace Christiansen
In Syosset, Robbins Lane Elementary School’s Student Council and Chorus Cares Club collected 276 pairs of new and gently used shoes and boots for the nonprofit Heeling Soles.
MINEOLA
Apple Distinguished Schools
The Mineola district’s five schools have been designated Apple Distinguished Schools for the 2017-18 school year, meaning they are considered centers of leadership and educational excellence that demonstrate Apple’s vision for learning with technology.
The achievement makes Mineola the first district statewide to have all of its schools earn the designation, district officials said.
To qualify, the schools underwent an application process to prove they met Apple’s vision. They were presented with plaques and banners last month by Apple representatives during a Board of Education meeting.
“It’s easy to have an idea; it’s not as easy to make it happen,” Superintendent Michael Nagler said. “I have to thank my principals for making this a reality.”
SYOSSET
NYSSMA president
Michael Salzman, coordinator of the Syosset school district’s fine and performing arts, is the new president of the New York State School Music Association.
Salzman has worked in Syosset since 2004, first as a middle school and high school band director. Before that, he taught elementary band in Seaford. He has been on Hofstra University’s music faculty since 1993 and is a member of the Nassau Music Educators Association’s executive board, of which he was president in 1999-2000.
“I am honored to assume the presidency of this important music education association,” Salzman said. “In selecting the theme for my presidency, I thought about the importance of every child having access to a high-quality sequential music education.”
COUNTYWIDE
French poetry contest
Eleven Nassau County students placed first in various categories of this year’s French Poetry Competition, coordinated by the American Association of Teachers of French’s Nassau County Chapter.
The competition, held at Hofstra University, consisted of five levels and challenged students to recite a famous poem or compose an original poem in French.
First-place winners and their schools were: Jack Ceriello and Julienne Saliou, East Woods School, Oyster Bay; Adam Sanders and Sarah Frankel, Great Neck North High School; Kristen Aloysius, Herricks High School; Jordan Landsman, Long Beach High School; Andres DeGrasse and Jack Kugler, Portledge School, Locust Valley; Kellyne Vaudreuil, Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead; and Sarah Hassan and Daniel Smichok, The Wheatley School, Old Westbury.
— Michael R. Ebert
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
