Vol. 76, No. 44
$1
Friday, November 11, 2016
UNITY DAY AT WILLITS SCHOOL
Second Annual nErD Camp held at Jericho Middle School BY GARY SIMEONE
Photo courtesy of the Syosset School District
Kindergarteners in Kate Cervone’s class at A.P. Willits School display the school’s unity banner. Cervone is pictured (right) with teacher assistants Elaine Rock and Jean Bickard (from left). In observance of National Bullying Prevention Month, A.P. Willits Elementary School in Syosset hosted its second annual Unity Day celebration on Oct. 14. S t u d e n t s wore red clothing as a display of their unity and pledged to stand up to bullying and treat
one another with respect. A special assembly was held at the end of the day and a banner was raised at the school to remind everyone that they are united in kindness, acceptance and inclusion.
Nassau County Police arrested a fifteen year old boy for allegedly burglarizing a business in Syosset on September 21st. According to detectives, a 15 year old male juvenile and another subject (not yet arrested) smashed the front glass door of Fred’s Barber Shop located at 51 Jackson Avenue, searched through several drawers and a cash register looking for cash. There
were no proceeds. After an investigation, detectives arrested the 15 year old defendant at his home on Wednesday, November 2. The juvenile is being charged with Burglary 3rd Degree and Criminal Mischief 3rd Degree. He will appear in Nassau County Family Court, Westbury on a later date.
Teen arrested in business burglary
Over 300 Educators from across the tri-state area showed up for the second annual nErDCamp LI on Saturday morning in the Jericho Middle School. Over 50 children’s authors and illustrators were also on hand at the event to sign books and talk about the process of putting a book together. nErD Camp Long Island is an educational camp with a primary focus on literacy. The free, open to the public event took place from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. “The concept behind nErDCamp is that it is an unconference model without any kind of structured or scheduled day,” said JoEllen McCarthy, one of the Staff Developers. “There are no set sessions and we have breakout type sessions where participants can join in on different topics. If someone is not interested in one session or topic they are free to get up and join in on another session that might fit their needs.” People wrote on a board ideas about sessions they’d like to have and discussions they would like to be involved in. Topics included the process authors go through while trying to put a book together, how they get their ideas for books and better ways to incorporate picture books into literacy lessons. “The day is about people getting together and having discussions, showing each other resources and giving each other ideas about thing they do,” said McCarthy. She said that it is a model designed specifically to meet the needs of the educators involved and anyone who attends may be a presenter or lead
a discussion on their interests or passions. “The Ed Camp fosters an atmosphere of collaboration, sharing and growth among participants,” said Mccarthy. “Together we work to build understanding by sharing our knowledge.” Towards the end of the day the participants gathered in the school’s auditorium to share with each other what valuable information they had picked up. One teacher said that something she picked up was that it was better to ask kids what they are in the mood to read instead of what kind of books they like to read. “I think by phrasing the question in that way you will get kids more motivated to want to read,” said the teacher. A student who attended the camp said that after having a conversation with children’s book author, Elly Swartz, she discovered something she hadn’t thought of before. Swartz is the author of ‘Finding Perfect’ about a middle school student dealing with obsessive compulsive disorder. “She told me that you can’t just base a person on what’s on the outside,” said the student. “You have to look at the whole person, both inside and outside. There’s a lot more to somebody than just their appearance.” Notable authors who were in attendance at the event included Lynda Mullaly Hunt, author of ‘Fish in a Tree, Sarah Albee, author of ‘Why’d They Wear That’ and Alison Cherry, author of ‘The Classy Crooks Club.’
Berry Hill School hosts book fair PAGE 17 Local runners score in town 5K run PAGE 15