Community Update
January 31, 2025
Fifth graders at Berry Hill have been busy building "Tiny Homes." This project is an outgrowth of the Journalism unit in our literacy curriculum, but you’d almost never know. Teams of students used measurement and proportions to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional scale models of tiny homes. To design their homes, they researched current events, learning how tiny homes address real-world challenges such as homelessness, energy efficiency, housing shortages, and lumber shortages. Students then had to “sell” their homes through real estate ads and feature articles, dabbling in economics, writing, marketing, and art. They even (as journalists!) recorded videos “reporting” on their tiny homes using green screen technology. This project-based unit leveraged the fun activity of designing and building creative tiny homes to engage students in real-world applications of math, history, economics, design, natural resources, and social issues. It’s hard to think of a more memorable form of instruction, which is ultimately the point – our learning consists of what we recall, not what we’ve forgotten.
Meanwhile, at Village, our second graders celebrated reading the classic novel Charlotte’s Web with a full day of collaborative, hands-on activities to bring the story to life. Students engaged in a STEAM challenge (where students designed and built homes for Charlotte’s babies), carnival games inspired by the read-aloud, and a lively discussion comparing the book and the movie, all while enjoying festive carnival snacks. The creative celebration deepened students’ love of reading and connection to the story in a most – memorable – way.
Barely a week ago, the Syosset ACT (Association of Creative Thespians) Club hosted its 24th annual Winter Showcase. At the event, groups of student thespians engage in friendly competition. In addition to bragging rights, the winner gets to direct the proceeds of all the ticket sales to the charity of their choice. This year, 23 students competed, and the winning team, “Juniors Missing Jenna,” donated their winnings to Baby2Baby, a nonprofit that provides necessary supplies to children living in poverty across the country. Talented AND generous – now that’s #SoSyo.
And, six of our high school musicians have been recognized as All-Eastern Musicians! They will head to Hartford, Connecticut this April to perform at the National Association for Music Education’s All-Eastern Conference. Top-performing students undergo a rigorous application process to receive this prestigious designation. Congrats to Lisa Yasinov (Mixed Chorus), Xiwen Zhang (Mixed Chorus), Elena Surber (Treble Choir), Alice Huang (Treble Choir), Jesse Namkoong (Symphonic Band), and Darren Leung (Symphonic Band).
In addition to these individual honors, our high school Wind Ensemble was also selected to perform at the conference. Groups from all over the eastern seaboard submit their recordings to compete for this recognition. We are incredibly proud of these students and the amazing music education program in Syosset that helps them achieve their best – congrats to all!
