Becoming a great teacher or administrator is not achieved alone, North Bellmore School District Superintendent Marie Testa noted at the annual tenure celebration on April 11. It requires a great support system of family and colleagues.

Seven great educators earned the professional milestone after completing their probationary periods, and were recognized before a large audience of administrators, teachers, students, family members and friends. The tenure recipients included five teachers – Melissa Halaris, Maritza Lopez, Daniela McGee, Kim Rackley and Alexander Roff – and central office administrators Denise Fisher and Leyna Malone.

Ms. Fisher first joined the district as assistant principal at Saw Mill Road Elementary School, then became Newbridge Road Elementary School’s principal before moving into her current position as executive director of personnel. She oversees a human resources department that serves 660 employees. Ms. Testa described her as brave and kind, someone who strongly believes in the district’s mission and core values, and a person who quietly lifts up everyone around her.

When Ms. Fisher went to Newbridge, Ms. Malone was hired as assistant principal of Saw Mill Road. She then became principal of Martin Avenue, and then the executive director for pupil personnel services and special education. It’s one of the most challenging jobs in the district, Ms. Testa explained, and requires a strong knowledge of legal requirements. The superintendent said that Ms. Malone’s kindness and strong advocacy for both students and teachers is what has led to her success.

North Bellmore Teachers Association President Joann Signorelli congratulated the five teachers who received tenure. There were also remarks from their building principals and colleagues.

Mr. Roff teaches general music at Martin Avenue and Newbridge Road, with Ms. Lopez spreading her love for music at Saw Mill Road. John G. Dinkelmeyer Elementary School boasts Ms. Rackley in fourth grade and Ms. Halaris in fifth grade, while Ms. McGee is a speech therapist at Newbridge Road.

North Bellmore Board of Education President Christine Malloy added that the tenure celebration is her favorite meeting of the year because they get to recognize the district’s amazing teachers and administrators.

Date Added: 4/17/2024

 

 

 

Hedgehogs may be found on the other side of the world, but kindergartners at Park Avenue Elementary School still enjoyed learning about the small, spiny mammals.

The youngsters in Anne Griffin’s class have been studying animal adaptations in both science and through a nonfiction reading unit. They recently welcomed their sixth grade buddies from Nicole Giusto’s class to make hedgehog crafts.

The sixth graders helped their young friends color their paper-plate hedgehogs, glue on eyes, make cuts along its back to represent the spines and write one of several facts they learned about the animals. Coincidentally, the sixth graders also happen to be in the midst of an animal survival unit in science, so it make for a great bonding experience.

After completing the crafts, Ms. Griffin’s and Ms. Giusto’s students read books together, with each student taking a turn to share a story.

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Date Added: 4/2/2024

Helping their students develop a thorough understanding of letters, sounds, words and linguistic patterns is a process that teachers take seriously in the North Bellmore School District. They recognize that the ability to read, write, listen and speak is central to knowledge acquisition in all other areas.

Alexa Laskowitz, a first grade teacher at Park Avenue Elementary School, makes sure that significant time each day is devoted to language development. Her classroom is an example of how early childhood literacy instruction takes place across the district, using numerous resources and techniques.

North Bellmore uses the Heggerty phonemic awareness program, a listening-based approach to help students hear and identify different sounds. Students make chopping motions for each sound in a word, and even a one-syllable word can have three or four chops depending on the combination of letters. By seeing connections among words, consonant blends or vowel sounds, students become stronger spellers.

Ms. Laskowitz explained that they take this knowledge from their carpet meetings back to their desks to use in their reading and writing. A teacher-led lesson must be followed by opportunities for students to apply what they’ve learned, either through independent, partner or small-group activities.

“It’s been beneficial to them for both reading and writing,” she said. “It’s fun and the students enjoy learning.”

Fundations is another tool Ms. Laskowitz and her early elementary colleagues use for literacy development. The program focuses on written letters and words, and uses a research-based approach for instruction in reading, spelling and handwriting. She has a wall full of Fundations sound cards, with individual letters and letter combinations. Students become the teacher as they point to the different letters and blends to help spell out a word.

Ms. Laskowitz said that each lesson focuses on a specific language skill, such as closed-syllable words, which end in a consonant and have a short vowel sound, or open-syllable words which end in a vowel sound. During a recent class, she read “Fred the Frog” to her class, then had students go back to their desks and reread portions of the story on worksheets. They were tasked with marking any blends, closed syllables and bonus letters.

Using components of both Heggerty and Fundations has enhanced literacy instruction, Ms. Laskowitz added, and she is noticing the difference on iReady diagnostic assessments as well as her own evaluations of student progress.

Date Added: 3/20/2024

The snow may have melted outside, but that didn’t stop a snowball fight from breaking out inside the gymnasium of Park Avenue Elementary School on Feb. 27.

There weren’t real snowballs, and the activity was actually designed to spread good will. Each grade participated in the kindness snowball fight, hosted by Students Against Destructive Decisions. There were soft, fake snowballs and crumpled up pieces of paper that, when opened, revealed compliments and positive messages.

A large sign on the gymnasium wall reminded students to “Spread kindness like snow.” Students in grades K-2 each took home one of the compliment sheets that were created by SADD club members. For grades 3-6, students wrote kind messages to specific classmates after a friendly snowball fight.

SADD’s faculty advisers Alexis Fassenfeld, a health and wellness teacher, and Holly Sugarman, school counselor, spearheaded the event. They were assisted by sixth grade SADD club members, who led discussions about kindness.

“The purpose of the kindness snowball fight is to encourage students to spread kindness amongst each other,” Ms. Fassenfeld said. “The SADD club hopes that this activity will allow all students to leave feeling good about themselves.”

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Date Added: 3/6/2024

Two dozen young artists from the North Bellmore School District were recognized for their talents at the North Bellmore Board of Education meeting on Feb. 8. Their drawings and paintings were displayed for all to see, and proud parents snapped photos before art teachers presented certificates.

Artists from the five elementary schools were honored. North Bellmore’s art teachers, Jillian Bock, Erica Farley and Amy Lopez, selected works to showcase a variety of projects across all grade levels that students completed in the first half of the school year. The pieces reflected the use of different artistic techniques and mediums.

“This art show is a visual representation of students’ artistic learning and growth, and the positive impact of arts education in our schools,” said Saw Mill Road Elementary School Principal Jeffrey Rosof, who supervises the district’s art program.

The district congratulates its featured artists:

John G. Dinkelmeyer Elementary School: Siya Gahra, Erin Loechner, Vincent Maltese and Yirui Zhang.

Martin Avenue Elementary School: Tess Daly,Vivienne Ferrie, Vincent Samaniegoand Reese Walker.

Newbridge Road Elementary School: Kayla Diaz,Paul Sloven,Luke Watson andConnor Weidemann.

Park Avenue Elementary School: Catalina Fioranelli, Caleb Littman, Wyatt Roussine and Madison Scholl.

Saw Mill Road Elementary School (Ms. Lopez): Grace Cho, Sean Egan, Noah Gwyther, Alexa Olmo, Lucas Shek, Brielle Tambini, Olivia Thomas and Averie Volpe.

The framed student artwork will be on display throughout the district for the next year. Central office and building administrators proudly selected pieces of art to hang in their offices.

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Date Added: 2/29/2024