March is Music in our Schools Month. To celebrate the 40th year of this national endeavor, James H. Boyd Intermediate School students discussed the importance of school music programs and completed personal music appreciation posts. These were gathered to create a colorful hallway display outside of their music classrooms at Boyd. 

Third grader Dean Turi wrote, “My favorite part of music in school is picking an instrument because there are so many choices!!!”

Fourth grader Emelia Alessi wrote, “I like to sing in school because I am good at it and it is one of my passions.”

Fifth grader Caitlin Maggiore wrote, “I play the clarinet. I like learning my instrument because you can learn about the notes and the songs. When it’s all together, it sounds amazing.”

“We are fortunate to have a thriving music program at Elwood, considered one of NAFME's Best Communities for Music,” music teacher Rachel Nagle said. “March is always a busy month for music.”

This month alone, students across three schools took part in SCMEA All-County, Elwood Middle School and John Glenn High School students performed their main stage musicals, and Boyd students are hard at work on their upcoming musical. Students across the district continue to participate in choral, band and orchestra programs as well as prepare for next month’s NYSSMA festival.

Date Added: 3/20/2025

The Elwood PTA Council recently partnered with leading clothing brand GOAT USA to launch a special campaign to raise essential funds for school programs and initiatives. Students at Elwood Middle School and James H. Boyd Intermediate School had the chance to engage in an inspiring lesson centered around GOAT USA’s positive message of “ordinary people can do extraordinary things.” Students created “GOAT” stickers, and the company selected one winning design each from the two schools, then created stickers to be shared with all students and staff. The winner sticker for Boyd was designed by third grader Kaia Abdulkhalek, while the middle school’s winning design came from eighth grader Paige Karafiol.

Students and families had access to purchase exclusive GOAT USA apparel that was custom designed for the Elwood school community, with a portion of every sale donated directly to the school PTAs to provide enriching educational experiences throughout the year.  
 
“While we always think about GOATs as famous athletes or music artists, the goal was for our students to think about who in their life is their GOAT and why, such as a family member, friend, teacher or coach,” Boyd Principal Elissa Millan said.

Date Added: 2/20/2025

Third graders at James H. Boyd Intermediate School recently wrote Valentine’s Day cards for residents of the Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Commack. The students enjoyed the chance to create thoughtful messages, hoping to bring a little cheer to the nursing home residents.

Date Added: 2/18/2025

Fourteen fantastic Elwood string musicians were recently chosen for the annual Long Island String Festival Association orchestra ensembles, placing them among the top orchestra students in Suffolk County. Acceptance into the festival is extremely competitive and is based on NYSSMA scores and teacher recommendations. During the weekend of the LISFA festival, the students participate in two rehearsals and a culminating concert; high school students performed on Jan. 12, while fifth through eighth grade students performed on Jan. 26.

The students selected to perform were Kailyn Dowlatram and Samuel Koven-Ahmad from James H. Boyd Intermediate School; Victoria Agrawal, Raho Kim and Aren Saunders from Elwood Middle School; and Margarita Agrawal, Louise Hartough, Rachel Kim, Davin Li, Jewel Li, Bella Ronai, Emma Rothleder, Irena Yeung and Camille Zreik from Elwood-John H. Glenn High School.

Date Added: 2/12/2025

It was carnival time on Jan. 23 as the Elwood School District presented its annual STEAM Night, held throughout Elwood Middle School. This year’s event, titled the “STEAM Carnival,” gave students from kindergarten through eighth grade an opportunity to explore science, technology, art and math concepts by trying out such myriad exciting activities such as catapult bowling with ping pong balls; racing Dash robots; creating snow cone slime, marble mazes and magnetic fishing games; building mini Ferris wheels and rubber-band-powered balloon cars; designing musical instruments out of everyday objects; and attempting an acrobatic balance challenge using using marshmallows, skewers and toothpicks.

Date Added: 2/10/2025