School Notebook: LI students immersed in local waterways

Many students are getting their feet wet in the field of environmental education.

Dozens of schools have been teaching children and teens about nature — and the importance of protecting it — by immersing them in everything from lakes and streams to the open water across Long Island.

Students at William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach used seine nets to investigate aquatic life along the coast of Great South Bay. They also tested the bay’s water quality on a boat with representatives of the South Shore Estuary Reserve Program and the Town of Brookhaven’s Environmental Protection Division.

“Educating the next generation on the health of the Great South Bay is critical to protecting and preserving it for the future,” said William Floyd School District’s science chairwoman, Luisa McHugh.

In Massapequa, high schoolers performed tasks ranging from measuring a stream’s speed to conducting biological sampling in Massapequa Preserve as part of A Day in the Life, a program sponsored by the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission. They compared their findings to previous data collected over the past 15 years.

In Rocky Point, students in the high school’s new fishing club learned about marine life in Long Island Sound and caught porgies and striped bass aboard Celtic Quest, a boat out of Port Jefferson.

In Oyster Bay, fifth-graders from James H. Vernon School participated in an estuary scavenger hunt and learned about harbor habitats at the nearby WaterFront Center, a nonprofit organization.

These field trips are not new but are always popular. “Our annual field trip to the center is always a favorite for the teachers and the students,” said Suzanne Gentile, a fifth-grade math and science teacher at the school.

BABYLON

Citizens Advisory Committee

The Babylon School District has launched a Citizens Advisory Committee to help collect information on students' social-emotional learning as well as student safety.

The committee is being created as the district returns to normalcy two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, district officials said. The findings will be relayed to the district's board of education.

"I have worked with these types of committees in the past and believe they can be a useful avenue for gathering additional information from residents," said the district's interim superintendent Brian Conboy.

ELMONT

A new STEAM Lab

Gotham Avenue Elementary School unveiled a new lab designed to promote collaboration and exploratory learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art and math — also known as STEAM.

The facility is equipped with technology including 3D printers, drones and coding robots. Other tools include digital microscopes, virtual-reality headsets and a Makerspace, an area where students engage in learning by creating.

“The world we live in is changing, and we must keep pace with it,” said the school’s assistant principal Robert Cavaliere.

RONKONKOMA

Book vending machine

Helen B. Duffield Elementary School recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil a vending machine that allows students to choose books they are interested in reading. The school’s teachers will each choose one student monthly — totaling 18 students building wide — to receive a gold coin to retrieve a book from the vending machine.

The effort is a collaboration between Helen B. Duffield school and Ronkonkoma Rotary Club, which will be supplying books to the school.

“This is a partnership that will continue a love of reading,” said reading teacher April Oquendo.

NASSAU COUNTY

New principal at BOCES

Jeannine Stutz has been named principal of the Nassau BOCES Center for Community Adjustment, where she will oversee programs for emotionally, behaviorally and developmentally challenged students.

Stutz was previously an assistant principal of Nassau BOCES Rosemary Kennedy School and then took the helm of the Carman Road School in Massapequa Park, where she provided services for students with multiple physical and developmental challenges.

“I will work with my administrative team to offer every opportunity for students to achieve their educational goals and provide them with life skills,” Stutz said.

ISLANDWIDE

Fire safety

Many students learned about fire safety through events held during National Fire Prevention Month in October.

In Central Islip, the district’s elementary schoolers learned about the importance of smoke detectors and the gear used by firefighters during a visit from the Central Islip Fire Department.

Members of the Mattituck and Cutchogue fire departments taught students how to safely exit a smoke-filled home during an assembly at Cutchogue East Elementary School.

In Uniondale, kids districtwide learned how to avoid accidentally starting a fire during a visit from the Uniondale Fire Department.

“It’s important to conduct annual training to reinforce fire safety tips,” said Uniondale School District Superintendent Monique Darrisaw-Akil.

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

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.