Dinosaurs may be extinct but kindergartners’ interest in them is definitely not. Kindergartners at Tackan Elementary School recently spent a day exploring dinosaurs in different centers. As part their exploration of dinosaurs, students did puzzles, built a dinosaur skeleton out of Q-Tips and glue and dug for dinosaurs in a sand pit.

Fifth graders at Tackan Elementary School recently put on a production of “The Big Bad Musical” for their family and friends. Characters included the Big Bad Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood, her grandmother, the Three Little Pigs and the shepherd in charge of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. With Sydney Grimm as the commentator on live Court TV, the evil stepmother and the fairy godmother clashed in a trial that will be remembered forever after.

 

The district has named its 2019 Torch Award recipients. The Torch Award is presented to Smithtown teachers who have significantly contributed to the growth and professional development of their teacher colleagues. The Smithtown Teacher Center hosted a reception to honor all Torch Award recipients and nominees. The 2019 Torch Award recipients are, from left, Tracy McAlvin, Christa Braunreuther, Jonathan Ferrante, Christina Cone, Jeanmarie Wilson, James Schiraldi and Barbara DiSalvo.

Congratulations to Lexi Poulis and Christian Cheri who were recently presented with the Suffolk County Zone Awards. The Suffolk Zone of New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, has established an award program to recognize an outstanding male and female physical education student in each elementary and middle school in Suffolk County.

Congratulations to Lexi Poulis and Christian our Suffolk Zone PE award winners.

First-grade students at Tackan Elementary School learned that green is more than just a color during a “Go Green” program. It also means taking special steps to protect the environment. Students learned how to reduce the number of things they use so there is less to throw away; reuse bottles, containers and shopping bags whenever possible; and recycle cans, bottles and paper. The first-graders made a newspaper planter and put a sunflower seed in the soil for their garden at home.

Michelle Robinson, librarian at Tackan Elementary School, has been awarded a grant from the Suffolk School Library Media Association. The grant, which is up to $500, will be used to purchase books for the multi-language collection for the school’s library. There are currently 13 different languages spoken by students at Tackan Elementary School. The books for the ENL learners will feature current titles to pique their interest in reading. 

Using their microscopes and Chromebooks, fourth-grade students at Tackan Elementary School transformed into scientists for the day during a recent hands-on activity. After learning about the food chain, what consumers eat, and why plants are producers, the students observed plankton eating food under the microscopes. They learned plankton get their energy directly from the sun using photosynthesis, just like plants.

Fifth-graders at Tackan Elementary School took a bite out of literacy during a book tasting in their library on March 12.

The library was transformed into a café for the students to enjoy their meals. After being seated at their respective tables, the fifth-graders got started on their appetizer, a book that had been preselected for them to taste. After reading either  the back cover, inside jacket or just a random page of the book, the students recorded the title, genre and author and decided if it was a book they would like to read. They moved on to the dinner and dessert choices and sampled different books during the respective courses. 

The fifth-graders also gave book “shout-outs,” sharing titles they believed the whole class would enjoy. As a culminating project, the students will create Animoto video book trailers to show the fourth-graders to pique their interest when they experience their book tasting next year. 

The district’s elementary and middle schools have been selected as Project Lead the Way Distinguished Schools for 2018-2019 school year.

For a second consecutive year, all seven of the district’s elementary schools have been designated as Distinguished Launch Schools based on their PLTW Launch implementation and participation in the 2017-2018 school year. Smithtown’s elementary schools represent seven of the 11 schools identified in New York State, and seven of the 216 Launch schools being recognized nationally.  

All three of the district’s middle schools have been designated as Distinguished Gateway Schools based on their Gateway implementation and participation in the 2017-2018 school year. Smithtown represents the only three schools in New York State, and three of the 148 Gateway schools being recognized nationally.  

“This recognition is certainly representative of all of the hard work that has gone into our successful implementation on the part of the many staff and faculty members involved,” said Paul Strader, executive director of curriculum.