Only in second grade, students in Maria Cottone’s class at Northwest Elementary School can already call themselves published authors. The class created a book, with each child receiving a copy, as a culminating activity in the personal narrative writing unit.

Each student wrote a small moment story, about a special memory in his or her life. Ms. Cottone said that children could write their stories in either English or Spanish, and also included an illustration. The stories were compiled together in a bound, hardcover book as a memento for every student. 

Not only do men and women make sacrifices to serve in the United States military, but so do their families. In April, which is designated as Month of the Military Child, Northwest Elementary School recognized the children of members of the Armed Forces.

On April 28 and 29, students and staff were encouraged to wear purple to school to show their support. The mother of one child sent in a video, who spoke about her role in the military and what it’s like as a military parent. She even gave students a virtual tour of her base. A father of another Northwest student sent in photos.

In art class, students made cards for military families. On paper shaped like butterflies, each child created a design on one side and wrote a personalized message on the other side. Teacher Lydia Robinson shared some words with students, like brave and courage, that they could include. The cards would be distributed to families through the parent of a Northwest child currently serving in the military. 

Social worker Debra Lee, who coordinated Northwest’s celebration of military families, said the goal was give students and appreciation for the different branches of the military and the sacrifices made by both those who serve and their family members. 

April is National Poetry Month so even though students at Northwest Elementary School have been reading poems all year, recently they have done a little extra. Several teachers combined poetry and song as a unique and engaging way to teach children about rhyme and rhythm. 

In Mackenzie Sipp’s and Jaclyn Wittschiebe’s first grade class, students were immersed in the poem, “Five Little Ducks.” They began each day by singing it aloud before using it to focus on different literacy skills. Children searched for rhyming words, different consonant combinations known as digraphs, and vowel teams. 

Meredith Cohen’s first graders analyzed “Bee and Sheep.” Students closed their eyes as she read the poem aloud. When she was done, they opened their eyes and drew what they imagined in their heads in their poetry journals.

With her guitar in hand, first grade teacher Margaret Brooks led singalongs of different poems. Appropriate for National Poetry Month, students sang the lines to “April.” They also learned a poem about the letter Y – how it can sometimes sound like E and other times like I. Her students have their own poetry binders filled with thematic poems about different seasons and academic subjects. 

The innovative ideas of three teachers in the Amityville Union Free School District resulted in $2,000 in grant awards, which will be used to further enhance learning opportunities for students. 

Amityville teachers received two out of the five Model Schools awards from Western Suffolk BOCES for their creative use of instructional technology. Northwest Elementary School co-teachers Kerrin Faulkner and Jenny Smith earned one of the $1,000 awards and Amityville Memorial High School social studies Jack Zider received the other. 

Ms. Faulkner and Ms. Smith have taught second grade together for the past four years and have continued to expand the use of technology to engage their students. Every year, students complete nonfiction writing pieces, including a research-based project on topics of their choice. This year, the project came about right after holiday break, but with Amityville schools on remote learning for the first two weeks of January, they looked for a new way for students to complete their projects.

The teachers turned to Book Creator, an app that students could access from their Chromebooks at home. Instead of paper projects, students created digital books on topics ranging from animals to historical events to sports. 

Ms. Faulkner and Ms. Smith said the addition of the technology component raised the level of engagement among students, who worked extremely hard to create their digital books. They were so proud of their finished products, the teachers said, they couldn’t wait to share with their classmates. All of the books were compiled into a digital book museum. 

“This technology really lifted the level of their writing,” Ms. Faulkner said. “It also really opened our eyes to new possibilities for the future.”

The teachers added that in addition to helping them with their research skills, the project showed students the important of including different text and non-text features in their writing, like photos and graphics, a table of contents, a glossary and fun facts pages.

For Black History Month in February, ninth graders in Mr. Zider’s social studies classes created a “Periodic Table of African-American Achievement in History” using Google Slides and Jamboard. Students, working independently or in small groups, created an interactive database in which they identified the accomplishments of notable Black figures throughout history. 

In addition to their Google Slide and Jamboard presentations, students created Flipgrid videos describing the impact those individuals made on society. The ninth graders explained why they chose their particular subjects and why their accomplishments should be celebrated. The projects were uploaded to their digital portfolios on Google Sites and shared with sixth graders at Edmund W. Miles Middle School.

“It’s very exciting,” Mr. Zider said of receiving the grant, “but all of the credit goes to the students. They really made it come to life. I’m just happy that they're being recognized for how dedicated they were to this project.”

Mr. Zider, who taught at the middle school for six years before moving to the high school this year, said that digital citizenship is an important part of social studies education He explained that the work his students do now should prepare them for the digital world they will experience after graduation, which is why he uses technology to such a great extent in his classroom. 

Ms. Faulkner, Ms. Smith and Mr. Zider will be able to use the grant money to pick out instructional resources of their choosing for their classrooms to enhance opportunities for their students. They will be honored at a Model Schools virtual celebration later this year and will be invited to speak for a few minutes about their projects. 

Kindness spread from one Amityville school to another, as students from Edmund W. Miles Middle School connected with their younger peers at Northwest Elementary School for a virtual character education program on March 15. 

Members of the middle school’s National Junior Honor Society chapter spoke to two kindergarten classes and two first grade classes in the first of several digital meet-ups. Each group of Honor Society students was paired with a specific class so they could directly connect with the Northwest children over Google Meet. 

Students learning both in school and remotely were able to join in the discussion about kindness. Honor Society members created digital presentations that Northwest students could view on the classroom digital display boards or on their Chromebooks.
 
The middle school students found many creative ways to spread the message of kindness. They included stories such as “A Joy Story” and “Snow White” in their digital presentations and made interactive games with questions about kindness using Kahoot. Honor Society members also asked the kindergartners and first graders to identify ways they show kindness to others either in school or at home, and challenged them to perform random acts of kindness.
 
Northwest Elementary School Principal Kathleen Hyland said that in a typical school year, Honor Society members visit the school to read to the children and to assist with evening events. Because of the pandemic, she and adviser Carlee Brunson wanted to find a new way for the middle school and elementary school students to connect, so they decided on the virtual meet-ups, featuring character education lesson and read alouds.