14 Suffolk Zone 1 - NEIGHBOR NEWSPAPERS - Wednesday APRIL 3, 2013
Junior Iron Chefs
Students of the Elwood School District recently took part in the first Long Island Junior Iron Chef competition sponsored by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and Whole Foods Market. The ElwoodJohn H. Glenn High School team, Dough Boys, comprised of 10th-graders Chris Bosco, Jacob Pagan and Michael Sgambati and under the leadership of team supervisor Sam Pagan, took first place in the competition. The winning recipe of black bean burgers was a big hit with the judges. The goal of the
competition was to encourage young students to embrace new skills in cooking that support a healthier lifestyle, a criterion that students were expected to follow when creating a recipe. Student recipes could not contain meat, fish or nuts and needed to include local seasonal food and USDAapproved ingredients. In preparation for this competition, students researched ingredients, practiced their recipes and took an educational tour of Whole Foods. Also recognized for their efforts at this event were students Kristen Laub,
who was representing the Wilson Tech team known as Team Kombert, and Jason Foerster, Ashley Mullan and Taylor Williams of the Elwood Middle School Home and Career Club, who called themselves “Elwood Eats.” “This was a phenomenal experience for these students,” remarked Rosa Glass, Elwood Middle School team supervisor and teacher in the district. “I am so proud of all of the students who participated. They worked hard on their dishes and learned a great deal about nutrition and choosing healthy ingredients.”
Students of Oldfield Middle School in the Harborfields Central School District recently spent the day shadowing select members of the staff during the 2nd Annual Teacher For A Day event. Chris Havranek and Robert McCoy, OMS student government advisers, paired students
and staff based on studentcreated lists of educational preferences. “I wanted to shadow Mrs. Madden because she is a special teacher who makes learning fun,” remarked sixth-grade student Samantha Ousey, “especially for students who really need to experience things to learn
them. She has taught me so much.” Dressing the professional part, students met with their mentor staff members to discuss the plans for the day. They then enjoyed the experience of shadowing and co-teaching to see what it’s like to be a “teacher for the day.”
Trading Places
Surprise Reader Day
Sunquam Elementary School in Melville recently invited Suffolk Legislator Lou D’Amaro to highlight the importance of reading by participating in its Mystery Reader Day. The special event was held in conjunction with the annual Parents as Reading Partners (PARP) statewide program. Sunquam PARP Committee Co-Chairs Allison Gruberger and Jill Varlack planned an entire day-long celebration built around the theme “Dive
Into Reading.” Legislator D’Amaro surprised the students in Mrs. Belz’s 5th grade class and shared John, Paul, George & Ben, a humorous story about several of America’s founding fathers (John Hancock, Paul Revere, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson) when they were children. The book is by author Lane Smith. “As an avid reader with a love of American history, I enjoyed sharing this
fun, comical tale with the Sunquam students. It was great to watch their faces light up as the characters came to life and the students began to relate to these important figures from our Country’s past,” said Legislator D’Amaro. “I once again thank the entire Sunquam community for allowing me to be a part of this wonderful event and applaud them for showing the children how important it is to ‘take the plunge’ and ‘dive’ into a good book.”
Petra’s Puppets
Students of James H. Boyd Intermediate School in the Elwood Union Free School District recently enjoyed a visit from ventriloquist Steve Petra, who presented Reading Rampage, a curriculumbased assembly involving a myriad of entertaining TRADING PLACES - Students of Oldfield Middle School in the Harborfields Central puppets. School District recently spent the day shadowing select members of the staff during Throughout his the 2nd Annual Teacher For A Day event. presentation, Mr. Petra
introduced students to characters including The Brain, Pierre Lobsterre, Demento the Rat and Gus the Word Bird. The interactive performance revolved around the idea that “there is power in language” and emphasized the joys of reading. Show segments included “Pump Up Your Vocabulary,” “Something
Spells Funny in Here,” “Painting Pictures with Words,” “Punctuation Lobster Challenge” and “What’s In The Library.” Students learned that reading is rewarding and were encouraged to pump up their brains by going on a “reading rampage” and enjoying different types of reading material.