Practicing addition and building fact fluency recently got a lot more exciting for the second graders at Elwood’s Harley Avenue Primary School, as math teacher Jill Greenblatt hosted Harley’s first annual Math Madness bracket-style tournament. To tie it in with the NCAA’s March Madness basketball contest, each student was “drafted” onto one of six teams named after colleges: Arizona Wildcats, Florida Gators, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes, Syracuse Orange and Wisconsin Badgers.

Round one took place on March 9, when four teams faced off in the cafetorium in front of their grade-level peers. It was followed by round two on March 15 and the championship game on March 23, which was won by the Badgers.

“As I went into each second-grade classroom to teach the students and teachers how to play the fact fluency game that they would play during the tournament, I could feel the excitement,” Greenblatt said. “Fun events like this really motivate the students to learn their math facts. They also loved hearing about different colleges, had a chance to bond with teammates from the other classes and practiced good sportsmanship.”

Date Added: 3/28/2023

The team of Elwood-John H. Glenn High School senior Grace Motta and Harborfields High School senior Alexandra Ebanks recently placed fourth in the Biomedical and Health Sciences category at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair.

The science research partners conducted research over the summer under a scientist at Stony Brook University as part of the Simons Summer Research Program. Their project “Examining the Relationship Between gC1qR and the PD-1/PD-L1 Axis in HepatitisC, HIV-1 and Cancer Cells” essentially looks at a way to inhibit certain viruses and cancers from evading the human immune system. Ebanks and Motta competed in the first round of LISEF last fall. The top 100 projects from that first round were invited to compete in person on March 7 at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.

“Alexandra and Grace obviously made an impact on the judges who awarded them this impressive placement,” Harborfields science research teacher Michael Pinto said.

Date Added: 3/27/2023

In recognition of March as National Women’s History Month, several community-minded female students were recognized by Elwood-John H. Glenn High School Principal Corey McNamara at the Elwood School District Board of Education’s March 16 meeting.

John Glenn students Kali Marketos, Riley Perinchief, Ellie Schwartz, Gabriela Solis and Madison Vega – all members of Girl Scout Troop 192 – were honored for earning their Silver Award by making lap blankets for the elderly at Whispering Pines Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Connecticut.

“The idea of providing warm blankets for the elderly was in and of itself was a very thoughtful endeavor, but the girls took it a few steps further and hand-made 70 blankets to be donated,” McNamara said. “They also took a trip to Connecticut, with the help of their parents, of course, to hand deliver the blankets to the Whispering Pines Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. With them, they also brought warm, encouraging and motivational handmade cards to go along with the blankets, and spent time with each and every recipient to chat and learn more about their story. They also made a how-to video for creating the blankets. You can see that this bonding experience provided such a service learning opportunity for these amazing young ladies, and I’m sure that all of them and those who they have helped will never forget this moment.”

Fellow student Sasha Amico was given a community service commendation for her fundraising efforts. Using her experience from previous philanthropic efforts, Amico came up with the idea of Sasha’s Scrumptious Snacks, purchasing bulk snack items and fashioning them into little baggies for sale, raising over $430 for the purchase of sports equipment for students of need in the Elwood community.  
“These young women being recognized here tonight are serving as outstanding role models, not only for younger female students, but for all students within the Elwood community,” McNamara said. “Keep up the great work in serving as role models and keep paying it forward.”

Additionally, the Elwood unified basketball team – Chase Abrams, Liul Bitew, Francis Charles, Andrew French, Devin French, Jah’mier Hodge, Francesco Musi, Joseph Pontieri, Ibraheem Riaz, Harrison Schlenker, Hunter Schlenker, Dave Singh and Stanley Yeung – were recognized along with coach Charles Rogener and student mentors Paul Febbraro and Joseph Mammolito. Last year, Athletic Director Dave Shanahan and Executive Director for Special Education and Pupil Personnel Services Eileen Kelly-Gorman presented the idea of starting a unified basketball team to the Board of Education, and the team began play this winter, to great success.

“Unified sports is an inclusive program that combines individuals with intellectual disabilities, and athletes and individuals without intellectual disabilities or partners, on sports teams,” Kelly-Gorman said. “The athletes and partners compete alongside one another, each in a meaningful and integral role on the unified sports team. And because this is a Section 11 sport, they are able to compete against all different schools nearby. The programs aim to build confidence and important social skills, while also providing students a chance to create new friendships.”

Date Added: 3/24/2023