Seaford pupils leave books for yoga mats

Seaford students recently put aside textbooks in favor of items ranging from harmonicas to yoga mats.

The activities were part of an Enrichment Day at Seaford Manor Elementary School last month in which more than 500 students in grades K-5 learned new skills that could enrich their lives.

"Enrichment Day gives students an opportunity to explore various interests outside of the regular curriculum," said Assistant Principal Patricia Gelling, who oversaw the event.

To participate, Seaford Manor students chose two of 20 45-minute workshops in topics ranging from sports to art to music. One popular activity had kids explore fitness and healthy habits by playing Nintendo Wii's "DanceDance Revolution" video game using an interactive whiteboard.

Other activities included a French vocabulary lesson hosted by Seaford Manor teachers and a craft workshop on making pencil holders using tin cans and tissue paper.

"I loved learning how to make this," said first-grader Sabrina Joerg, who used yarn and lollipop sticks to make a Mexican weaving called "god's eye." "This was a fun day at school."

The event was coordinated by the Shared Decision-Making Team of parents, teachers and administrators committed to helping kids make good choices.

GLEN COVE

Celebrating diversity

Robert M. Finley Middle School students demonstrated cultural pride last month with a Diversity Day that included a series of ethnic-themed activities and a "smorgasbord of food" from different countries that was served during lunch periods, school officials said.

As part of the program, eighth-graders researched their ancestry and illustrated their findings through essays, drawings and other visual projects set up in the school hallways. Principal Anael Alston also quizzed kids on international history and current events.

And Glen Cove high schoolers recently learned the importance of creating a "college calendar" to help with time management and college planning during a visit from Fordham University officials.

LEVITTOWN

Invisible Children

MacArthur High School students recently learned about the terrors of child abduction and the use of child soldiers in war-torn Uganda through a visit from a member of Invisible Children, an educational movement prompted by the 2003 documentary of the same name.

During the presentation, a Ugandan college student spoke about fleeing her village as a child and losing her father to a heart attack that she believed was caused by their flight. The teens also watched "The Rescue," a 2009 documentary on the plight of the child soldiers.

In other news, MacArthur's Environmental Club recently raised $400 through an ink cartridge and cell phone recycling program to benefit the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.

MINEOLA

State honors for nurse

Donna Hasan has been named Nassau County's 2010 Nurse of Excellence by the New York State Association of School Nurses. Hasan has spent 25 years in the Mineola School District and is a member and past president of the Nassau County Association of School Nurses. She was chosen based on peer nominations and honored at the association's fall conference.

COUNTYWIDE

Russia videoconference

Five educators from school districts in Siberia learned the benefits of videoconferencing last month at Nassau BOCES' Robert E. Lupinskie Center for Curriculum, Instruction and Technology in Westbury. The visit was part of their weeklong tour of New York schools.

The Russian educators participated in a videoconference with Florence A. Smith Elementary School in Oceanside in which two Russian-speaking students described their recent videoconference with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio. The teachers later linked up with kids at New Visions Elementary School in Freeport to hear about their recent videoconference with the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta.

"We have very cold winters," said Lyudmila Samayeva, a history teacher from a rural school in Plokskoye. "Sometimes, children are not allowed to go to school for up to a month and a half. This is something that would be helpful during those cold weeks."

ISLANDWIDE

Coloring Long Island

Several hundred Long Island students were selected to appear in "Colors of Long Island: Student Expressions," a K-12 December art exhibit hosted by the Long Island Museum of American Art, History & Carriages in Stony Brook.

Art teachers from 109 public and private schools were invited to submit up to three pieces of student art based on their interpretation of the "Colors of Long Island" theme. Submitted artwork ranged from watercolors to sculptures to photographs, museum officials said.

Long Island Lutheran Day School at St. Paul's in East Northport led the way with the works of 42 students appearing at the exhibit. Commack Middle School had 22 students, and Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School in Miller Place, 20.