It was anything but a traditional end of the school year at Northwest Elementary School, but that did nothing to tamp down the enthusiasm of students, teachers and staff during farewell drive-by parades on June 15.  

With school closed since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the first time students and teachers saw each other in person in three months. Even though their faces were partly obscured by masks, seeing each other brought equal joy to the children and the adults.   

Each grade was allocated a time slot and families could drive through the front loop where teachers lined the sidewalk holding handmade signs. Music played in the background as staff applauded and cheered. As cars entered the parking lot, Principal Kathleen Hyland and Assistant Principal Sonia Rodrigo were waiting to present each child with a white and red Northwest T-shirt. 

The parades also served as moving-up ceremonies for the second and third graders, all headed to Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School next year. The district will be reconfigured with the opening of new space at Northwest and Amityville Memorial High School. Teachers wished the children good luck at their stately new school.  

Young scientists at Northwest Elementary School are continuing to explore the curiosities of the world even while schools are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditional science lessons have gone digital so children don’t miss out on meaningful learning experiences. 

Every spring, second grade classes hatch baby chicks in their classrooms to learn about animal life cycles. This year, several teachers received the eggs and incubators at their homes, providing second graders with regular updates and videos. Children got to watch as the teachers turned the eggs, keeping track of the progress in their science notebooks, and anxiously awaited the day the baby chicks would hatch. 

ENL teacher Rachel Pariser taught a lesson on plant life and showed her students a video of how she used a regular dry bean from the supermarket to grow a plant. They then planted bean found around their own homes, provided water and sunlight, and made Flipgrid videos to share their successes. 

Ms. Pariser also used Seesaw, a digital learning platform, to post “The Sunflower House” for students to read. She mailed out sunflower seeds to several students who were interested in growing their own.   

First grade teacher Jaclynn Wittschiebe’s turtle quickly became a star among her students. Children learned about the reptiles by reading books and watching videos, with her pet Turtus also making appearances during lessons. Students completed writing assignments explaining what they learned about turtles.  

Ms. Wittschiebe also had caterpillars at her house and posted daily videos of their progress through their hatching as butterflies.