The fourth grade students at Accompsett Elementary School participated in a virtual learning experience thanks to a remote lesson with SCOPE educator John Shiels. The food web program, sponsored by the Parent-Teacher Association’s Cultural Arts program, taught students about the food chain using real life pond samples that contained plankton. While the lessons went virtual this year, the students still had the opportunity to observe a microscopic ecosystem of a water droplet and identify plankton and other organisms found in the water.

More than 250 parents, students and staff members participated in Smithtown Central School District’s virtual Parent University on March 8. Parent University is hosted by the district’s Wellness Committee. The evening, themed “Responding to this Moment,” featured more than a dozen workshops for participants in two different sessions.

Workshops were facilitated by both community members, professionals and staff. Mental health counselor Ron Villano addressed how to manage concerns for students during this time such as anxiety, stress, feeling trapped and mental health, and school performance. Dietitian/nutritionist Colleen McDermott talked about different nutrition components to lead a healthy lifestyle, while registered sleep technologist Brendan Duffy spoke about how to protect and improve sleep.

Smithtown’s administrator for guidance and related student services Kevin Colon provided strategies for effective communication between parents and teenagers. Nesaquake Middle School reading teacher Julianne DeSilva spoke about how to encourage reading at home with ideas for how parents can engage with reading with their children and model good reading habits.

Dr. Beth Forhman’s workshop offered evidence-based suggestions to foster family and children’s resiliency during this challenging time. Dr. Marissa Abram also spoke about the impact of mental health during the pandemic and how to create self-care plan. Psychologist and therapist Craig O’Brien addressed biological stress reactions and strategies for managing anxieties.

During a recent Project Lead the Way lesson, the fifth graders at Accompsett Elementary School were tasked with building their own toy robots using their Vex kits. Working together in small groups, the students sketched design plans for their toy creations. They measured their parts and put their plans into place to get their toys built. The lesson was part of the robotics unit to allow students to get familiar with the Vex kits.

Smithtown is one of nine schools districts to be included in the recent Smart Start grant received by Western Suffolk BOCES. The purpose of the Smart Start grant is to develop, implement and share innovative programs that provide professional development and support to increase expertise in computer science, engineering and/or educational technology among teachers in grades K-8.

Smithtown was one of the component districts that expressed interest in participating in the grant. Western Suffolk BOCES was awarded $500,000 a year for each of the next five school years (2021-2022 through 2025-2026). The money allocated to each district will be based on the student population. Smithtown’s portion of the funds will support 115 teachers in computer science professional development. Beginning this summer, the district will be able to open up the training to 23 teachers per year.

Teachers will be involved in four days of professional development during the summer months and two-and-a-half days during the school year. Teachers will be trained in computer science by the company Mouse. “Our goal is to further enhance our computer science offerings here in Smithtown as well as support teachers in the delivery of our Project Lead the Way program,” said Paul Strader, assistant superintendent for curriculum and assessment.

This summer, the district will offer the training to interested K-5 STEM specialists, K-8 library media specialists, middle school math teachers and K-5 elementary classroom teachers. They will continue to expand the pool of teachers offered the professional development each school year. Teachers will receive a stipend from grant for their participation. Following the training, the teachers will be delivering at least 15-20 computer science-based lessons.

Sledding through the snow outside their school building, the students at Accompsett Elementary School participated in their own version of the Iditarod during their physical education classes in mid-February. Physical education teacher Kurt Margraf said the students really enjoyed participating in the sledding race, getting outdoors and taking advantage of the recent snowfall. Dressed in their snow gear, the students pulled their partners around the course. The annual Iditarod dog sled race typically takes place annually every March in Alaska.

The fourth graders at Accompsett Elementary School have been working on a writing centered around words of kindness this Valentine’s Day. Students created bookmarks for their classmates filled with different positive adjectives. They used Pear Deck to write an essay on why their hearts are full. They first brainstormed different ideas using a graphic organizer. After filling out the graphic organizer, students wrote topic sentences using supporting detail before completing their essay. Some of the fourth graders even created virtual Valentine’s Day cards for their classmates, incorporating pictures and a compliment.