It was a day of high-flying, hands-on activity for third-graders in Kaileen Spadaro’s class at Great Neck Road Elementary School on Nov. 20.

The students began by reading “Balloons Over Broadway” about the New York City Thanksgiving Day parade. As part of a STEM-based Thanksgiving activity, the students were tasked with constructing their own balloon floats. Working in groups, the students chose their designs and used construction papers, boxes and other materials to get them to float atop a cardboard box. 

After they completed their floats, the students marched through the cafeteria to show off their creative designs to the kindergartners. 

Kindergartners at Great Neck Road Elementary School started preparing for the Thanksgiving holiday by participating in Thanksgiving centers on Nov. 19.

After learning different facts and the history of Thanksgiving, the three kindergarten classes rotated classrooms for different hands-on activities. In one station, the students colored three feathers and glued them to create a headband. A second classroom station featured turkeys made out of folded paper, while the students in another classroom made their own patterned necklaces out of Fruit Loops. 

Fifth-graders at Great Neck Road Elementary School celebrated World Kindness Day on Nov. 13. The students brainstormed different ways to spread kindness and wrote letters to some of the unsung heroes at their school such as cafeteria aides, security guards and bus drivers. 

Using their imaginations, students in Dayna Clair’s first-grade class at Great Neck Road Elementary School completed a literacy lesson based on the book “It Looked Like Spilt Milk.” After making their own abstract paint splatter creation using white paint, the students described what their paint looked like to them. 

Great Neck Road Elementary School recognized the hard work, dedication and sacrifice of veterans during a Veterans Day breakfast hosted in the school’s gymnasium on Nov. 2.

Joined by district administrators and board of education members, the invited guests were treated to a breakfast served by student-volunteers as well as performances. Each place setting featured a note of thanks written by a Great Neck Road student as well as colorfully decorated placemat. A photo booth with props was set up for the friends and families to enjoy a memory from the day.

After enjoying their meal, the veterans listened to three fifth-grade students recite their essay submissions from the Town of Babylon Veterans Day essay contest. The school also created an ABC poem video about veterans featuring students in all grades.  

The Great Neck Road chorus serenaded the attendees with “America the Beautiful” followed by a performance by the Great Neck Road dance team. To close out the morning, the kindergartners paraded into the room waving their flags to “Yankee Doodle Dandy” led by 10th-grader and Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School marching band member Morgan Weeks playing the piccolo. 

First-graders in Cristina Ayala’s class at Great Neck Road Elementary School are learning all about families and how each one is unique and special. To work on their writing skills, the students are creating an “All About My Family” booklet. They are drawing photos of their home and families, writing facts about where they live and why their families are special and important.

As part of Great Neck Road Elementary School’s educational spirit week celebration, the school participated in a teambuilding exercise. Dressed in their favorite sports team gear, the students took to the field outside the school with hula hoops in hand. The class joined hands in a large circle and worked together to try to get the hula hoop moved all around the circle. The students learned about teamwork and communication while also having fun.

It’s apple picking season and kindergarten students at Great Neck Road Elementary School are getting in the spirit.

Students in Natalia Brite’s class learned about Johnny Appleseed and then taste tested different colored apples. After choosing their favorite color, they graphed the results to see which color came out on top. The class also read “Ten Apples Up” and colored and numbered 10 apples in a row.

As a special treat, the class made their own applesauce. They learned about ingredients, following directions and took turns stirring the apples in the crockpot throughout the day. By the end of the day, the students had a chance to taste Ms. Brite’s “secret” applesauce and receive a “good apple” certificate.

Volunteer firefighters and EMS workers from Copiague Fire Department visited with students at Great Neck Road Elementary School as part of National Fire Prevention Month in October.

During two assemblies for the school, the volunteers spoke about fire safety, how to prevent fires and what to do in case of an emergency. The students were taught about smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors and why they are so important. The students learned the role of the firefighter, the tools they use and what they look like all dressed up in their gear.

In celebration of October as National Principals Month, every Monday in October we are spotlighting one of our building principals. Our final spotlight features, Great Neck Road Elementary School Principal, Mrs. Karla Cangelosi. Click here to learn more about Mrs. Cangelosi.

The community, students, staff, administration and board of education joined together to celebrate the Copiague School District’s homecoming on Oct. 13.

Kicking off with a pep rally at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School the day before, the weekend activities began with a homecoming parade starting at Great Neck Road Elementary School. Members of sports teams, school clubs, youth organizations and the homecoming court gathered for the march to the high school. Senior class king and queen Owen Rosenberg and Kembalee Rolle waved to the crowd down the parade route. The homecoming floats – themed board games – showed off the students’ creativity and featured members of the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes.

Prior to the start of the football game against Newfield High School, Sen. John Brooks and Leg. DuWayne Gregory offered their best wishes for the Copiague Eagles. Despite their best efforts, the Eagles were unable to come out on top against the Newfield Wolverines.

The halftime show featured performances from the award-winning Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School marching band, varsity cheerleaders and step team. The evening concluded with the Hall of Achievement induction ceremony, honoring four Copiague alumni who have made a difference.