It was the opportunity to see their school from a different perspective as more than 20 students from throughout Accompsett Middle School became “Teachers for a Day” on Feb 28.

The initiative, which is part of a Parent-Teacher Association event, allows students to pair up with their favorite teacher or administrator and walk in their shoes for the day. The students are chosen at random and have the opportunity to choose the teacher they would like to shadow for the day.

This “day in the life” program has students creating lesson plans, delivering lessons and getting a real feel for being a teacher or administrator. Sixth-grader Dan Ryan served as Principal for the Day alongside Principal Paul McNeil, and said he loved how he toured the school with him, fielded questions from his fellow students and learned about the different aspects of being a principal. Jillian Ragan worked with social studies teacher Ms. Ortiz and said the hardest part of teaching the lesson was getting class participation.

Smithtown showed off the talent of its student body and recognized the accomplishments of students and staff during its Feb. 26 board of education meeting.

The meeting was held at Smithtown Elementary School, as the board of education is moving its meetings to different locations this school year in an effort to connect with the community. Smithtown Elementary fifth-graders showed off their performing skills with a sneak peek of a few songs from their upcoming presentation of “The Lion King” to start the meeting.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. James Grossane honored and recognized several teachers and a student. High School West senior Matthew Bizzaro was recognized for receiving first place in the Long Island round of the National Automotive Technology Competition. Four Smithtown teachers – David Junz, Kelly Bigliani, Glenn Rogers and Brian Cusati – were honored for being chosen as Project Lead the Way Master Teachers. Lastly, High School East math teacher Marianne Schoepflin was honored for achieving National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification. 

Seventh-grade student-artists in Jennifer Kapps-Flemings’s class at Accompsett Middle School recently created animals using the Zentangle art method. A Zentangle drawing is an abstract drawing created using repetitive patterns called tangles. Artists create tangles with combinations of dots, lines, simple curves, S-curves and orbs. The works are done in  in black ink on white paper with grey pencil shading. 

Sensory writing and how to use descriptive words were the topics of discussion at the writer’s workshops held at Accompsett Middle School on Jan. 15 by author Todd Strasser. The visit was part of the school’s Parent-Teacher Association’s cultural arts program.

Sixth-grade students met in the auditorium for a presentation by Mr. Strasser, who discussed his experiences as a children’s author. Following the group assembly, Mr. Strasser worked with the students in writer’s workshops in the library. During the workshops, the students learned how to use words in their writing to “show rather than tell” the story.