The Elmont Board of Education was honored on October 8th by a full house at Alden Terrace School, bringing the community together to celebrate its dedicated members in recognition of School Board Recognition Week, observed this year from October 14-18. 

To thank the board for their hard work and committed service, Superintendent of Schools Marlon Small stated, “The work you do is very important because it impacts the running of our school district, and it affects the lives of our students, their families and our community.”

Following Mr. Small’s remarks, Alden Terrace’s fifth and sixth grade chorus, under the direction of music teacher Gintare Bukauskas, sang beautiful renditions of “What the World Needs Now is Love” and “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand).” During the performance, the students proudly held paper torches with the word “love” and presented them to the board as a gift of appreciation. At the conclusion of their performances, the students received an enthusiastic standing ovation from all in attendance.

With the assistance of Alden Terrace Principal Shawnée Warfield, the chorus students also gifted the board with cards and handmade artwork created by students in the third and fourth grade Art Club. Dutch Broadway School Principal Cynthia Qasim joined in by presenting student-made gifts in appreciation of the board’s volunteer service.

To conclude the student presentations, Stewart Manor School Student Council members spoke to the board and community about their school’s upcoming Predictions Marathon being held on Oct. 22. The 17th annual event promotes cardiovascular fitness and raises money for breast cancer awareness.

During the regular portion of the meeting, Vice President Lynette Battle celebrated the district's accomplishments since the start of the school year. She highlighted increased student participation in STEM and literacy programs, schools hosting family workshops and events, facility improvements for safe, modern learning spaces and the ongoing focus on equity and inclusion initiatives.

It was a successful board meeting for the Elmont community, as they celebrated the board’s service with students’ musical and artistic talents, as well as highlighted students’ altruism.

 

The Elmont Union Free School District is excited to welcome two dynamic educators to its leadership team. Pamela Boyd has been named the new assistant principal of Stewart Manor School, and Kimberly Farina has joined Sonia Rodrigo as assistant principal at Gotham Avenue School.

Ms. Boyd is a seasoned educational professional with a demonstrated history of successfully raising student academic outcomes. A familiar face to the district, she has taught at Covert Avenue School almost exclusively since 2002, most recently as a third grade teacher. Her leadership highlights include spearheading the "Girls Who Code" program for third grade girls, guiding them toward STEM careers, and playing a key role in training staff on Go Math and IXL. She also collaborated with district leaders on curriculum development and the virtual report card initiative. Ms. Boyd also served as a math specialist for Rose Hill Elementary School in Virginia. There, she analyzed K-6 student scores, conducted classroom observations and created action plans for the benefit of 500 students, and trained staff on the implementation of a new mathematics program.

Ms. Boyd holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, a master’s in elementary education from Long Island University and a School District Administrator certificate from Queens College.

Ms. Farina joins Elmont with 19 years of educational experience, most recently as a district mathematics instructional coach in the Plainview-Old Bethpage School District. Throughout her years in education, she has been a valued and respected member of her school community and has built a positive rapport with students, families, staff and administration. She has excelled in supporting teachers through professional development, curriculum oversight and data analysis. Before her role in POB, Ms. Farina spent 15 years working for the Department of Education, where she taught multiple elementary grade levels, served as a staff mentor and helped facilitate parent workshops to increase engagement in student learning.

Ms. Farina earned her bachelor’s degree from SUNY New Paltz, along with master’s degrees in teaching literacy and school leadership from Touro College.

The district is thrilled to have such accomplished leaders join Elmont schools and looks forward to the positive impact they will have on our students and community!

 

 

Date Added: 10/8/2024

Clara H. Carlson School students and staff paid respects to Mr. Giandonato “John” Orlando, a maintenance worker at the school who sadly passed away last year, with the dedication of a new Little Free Library on Sept. 27. This initiative was led by the Building Advisory Committee.

Mrs. Samantha McNamara led the BAC team to acquire the Little Free Library, which will provide free, donated books to the students at Carlson. With the help of the maintenance and custodial team, the library was installed just prior to the ceremony.

One class from every grade attended the ceremony held that morning. Mr. Orlando’s own family members were also present, with his grandchildren placing the first donated books into the library.

During the ceremony, fifth grader David Latimer read aloud the poem, “I Opened a Book,” and teacher Mrs. DiRe read aloud a tribute. Mr. Orlando’s friend and colleague, Mike Deutch, unveiled the library.

“This Little Free Library is a collective effort, by so many, that will help foster a love for reading,” Assistant Principal and BAC leader Richard Mansfield said. “It is also a wonderful tribute to a man who gave so much to the Elmont school community. I’m so proud of how the school community came together to make this literacy initiative come to fruition.”

Click here to view the Clara H. Carlson School Honors Former Staff Member slideshow.

Date Added: 10/3/2024

Stewart Manor School pre-K students in Ms. Von Glahn’s class recently studied apples during their first science unit.

The unit began with an introduction of each part of an apple and the function each part performs. Students labeled apple diagrams to identify the apple’s skin, stem, leaves and seeds. Then, they learned about the life cycle of an apple through art, dance, song and books.

With their newfound apple knowledge, the students became “apple investigators.” Working in groups, the students documented the color of their apple and compared with others in the class orchard. Students used cubes and blocks to measure the height and weight of their group’s specific apple and wrote down their data. Each apple was also cut in half by Ms. Von Glahn for the students to create a unique apple print.

Date Added: 10/1/2024