LI schools highlight autumn in lessons
Kindergartners in Natalia Brite's class at Great Neck Road Elementary School in the Copiague district learn how to make their own applesauce. Credit: Copiague School District
Schools across Long Island incorporated autumn into students’ days through fall-themed art projects, math lessons and science experiments.
In East Northport, more than 100 students at Fifth Avenue Elementary School decorated pumpkins to look like literary characters, including the Grinch, Captain Underpants and the Headless Horseman. The creations were spread throughout the school’s library to resemble a pumpkin patch, and pupils voted on their favorite one in the spirit of Election Day.
“Captain Underpants is all about an adventurous superhero, but is also about these two boys who are really relatable,” fourth-grader Tyler Thompson said of his design. “It was so fun to turn him into a pumpkin.”
Kindergartners and third-graders at William E. DeLuca Jr. Elementary School in North Babylon tasted red, yellow and green apples and contributed to a graph tallying their favorite flavor. They also learned the story of Johnny Appleseed, the pioneer nurseryman credited with introducing apples to several states in the 1700s, and used colored paper to craft illustrations of him.
In Bayport, fourth-graders at Academy Street Elementary School tackled tasks such as measuring a pumpkin’s physical properties, guessing if it would sink or float, and writing essays explaining what it would be like to explore the inside of a pumpkin.
First-graders at Frank J. Carasiti Elementary School in Rocky Point mixed together the primary colors red, yellow and blue to create secondary colors and paint fall-themed items, such as pumpkins and leaves.
SAG HARBOR
Students from Belllerose Avenue Elementary School in East Northport spent a day earlier this month exploring and learning about nature. Credit: Northport-East Northport School District
New principal
Brittany Carriero has been appointed principal of Pierson Middle School. Jeff Nichols previously was principal of both the middle school and the high school and now will focus on the high school.
Carriero had served five years as the middle school’s assistant principal. Before that, she was a special education, physical education and middle school teacher at the New York City Lab School for Collaborative Studies.
“Just a few of the reasons I love working in Sag Harbor is the collaboration with my colleagues, the closeness of our community and sense of pride in our school,” Carriero said.
Fourth-graders at Nokomis Elementary School in Holbrook, in the Sachem school district, recently crafted detailed maps of New York State as part of a project exploring maps. Credit: Sachem Central School District
COUNTYWIDE
Veterans Day
Many local schools showed gratitude to local veterans this month in recognition of Veterans Day.
Students at Pulaski Street Elementary School in Riverhead collected nearly 500 pounds of Halloween candy as part of an “Adopt-a-Platoon” drive sponsored by the Brookhaven Veterans Association in coordination with Brookhaven National Laboratory. Children also penned thank-you letters, which were sent overseas with the candy.
In Copiague, Great Neck Road Elementary School honored local veterans with a breakfast served by student volunteers in the school’s gymnasium. Three fifth-graders also recited their submissions to the Town of Babylon’s Veterans Day Essay Contest.
Third-graders in Kristin Chirichella's class at Sunrise Drive Elementary School in Sayville recently celebrated El Día de los Muertos, a Mexican holiday in which individuals remember family members and friends who have died. Credit: Sayville School District
In Smithtown, students in Accompsett Middle School’s National Junior Honor Society welcomed local veterans for an afternoon of snacks, games and stories about their service.
ISLANDWIDE
Reflections winners
Four Long Island students are winners in this year’s National PTA Reflections Contest, which included original artwork in the categories of dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography and visual arts.
The winners and their school districts are: Hannah Cheeseman, North Bellmore, Award of Excellence for photography; Griffin Hon, Syosset, Award of Excellence in the middle school division for film production; Letao Tao, Garden City, Award of Excellence in the primary division for film production; and Lily Tierney, Huntington, Award of Merit in the middle school division for literature.
To reach the national level, students first won at the district, regional and state levels. Submissions were judged on interpretation of theme, creativity and technique.
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.
