'Peace talks' for smooth Oyster Bay school-bus rides

Oyster Bay students are seeing that peace talks don't occur only on a global scale.

To promote better behavior, Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School has launched a Peaceful School Bus Program that requires K-2 pupils to meet periodically for a series of "get-to-know-you" activities and a review of bus rules, school officials said.

The program, which stems from Minnesota-based bullying-prevention program publisher Hazelden, aims to increase positive social behavior by creating a greater sense of community.

"Although we don't have a tremendous amount of bullying problems on our buses, we believe that the rare instances we do have can be prevented," Principal Gina Faust said. "It's easy to bully someone you don't know, as opposed to someone that you do know."

In the program, students assigned to the school's bus routes will gather every other month to mingle and perform skits on ways to handle conflict. One tip, Faust said, is for kids to calmly switch seats at the next stop if they are being bullied. School officials will gauge the program's success by the number of incidents reported by drivers.

GLEN HEAD

Drug-free coalition

Sea Cliff Elementary School recently hosted the first meeting of the Coalition for a Drug- Free North Shore, a group of local organizations dedicated to reducing alcohol and drug use among local youths. The meeting was held to bring sectors of the community together. Next they will define goals and develop responsibilities.

Attending officials included Sea Cliff Mayor Bruce Kennedy and members of the Long Island Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence and the North Shore Boys & Girls Club.

"The more pro-social or positive activities available for students to engage in, the less likely they are to indulge in negative behaviors," said North Shore school district Superintendent Edward Melnick.

HICKSVILLE

Hoops for Heart benefit

Fourth- and fifth-graders at Burns Avenue Elementary School collected more than $1,500 last month at Hoops for Heart, an annual event that promotes heart health through basketball activities in the school gym. Funds will benefit the American Heart Association.

PLAINEDGE

Theme-song winners

Plainedge High School's robotics team was named the winner earlier this month of a theme-song contest sponsored by School-Business Partnerships of Long Island for its 2010 Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition. The team's song, "The Power of Five," beat 13 Long Island entries for a $1,000 check. The robotics competition will be held at Hofstra University in March.

COUNTYWIDE

Scholar-athlete teams