The Connetquot Central School District has launched this new e-newsletter to maintain an open line of communication with the community. The publication will be distributed periodically and will include event highlights, programmatic updates and more!

January 28 – Board of Education Planning Session, 7:30 p.m. at Central Office

February 10-14 – DASA Awareness Week

February 11 – Board of Education Business/Budget Mtg., 7:30 p.m. at Central Office

February 17-21 – Mid-Winter Recess – Schools Closed

February 25 – Board of Education Planning Session/Budget Mtg., 7:30 p.m. at Central Office

Applications are now available for Connetquot Central School District’s 2020-2021 Universal Pre-Kindergarten program.

To be eligible, your child must turn 4 years old on or before Dec. 1, 2020. If you are interested in applying your child for this program, please contact Central Registration for more information at 631-244-2215, ext. 3938 or visit the district’s website www.ccsdli.org. Applicants will be selected by a lottery to attend the weekly half-day program on Monday, April 13, 2020. All completed forms and required documentation must be submitted, in person, to Central Registration by Friday, March 20, 2020.

This program is funded by a New York State grant and is pending state budget approval. There is no cost to the applicant, however parents are responsible for transportation.

The district is looking for participation in the Board of Education Facilities Advisory Committee. This committee is charged with ensuring that our facilities are up to date and continually improving to serve our community's most valuable resource – our students. The committee’s first meeting will be at the Helen Maloney Administration Building, located at 780 Ocean Avenue, Bohemia, at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, January 27.

Please RSVP to Mr. John Allen at jallen@ccsdli.org.

Connetquot Central School District elementary students worked to enhance their coding skills as they celebrated Computer Science Education Week in early December.

At Idle Hour, fifth grade students worked with computer science and engineering teacher Patrick Brennan to write code for controlled movements using the KidOYO Hatch program, while first graders completed an unplugged activity, discussing movement codes by walking through a lifesized maze design based on the book “Rosie’s Walk.” They then had the chance to code Bee-Bot robots through a smaller-scaled maze. The project not only touched upon the computer science skills they were learning, but also reinforced key English language arts terms as they were asked to use the correct preposition to describe their movements. At Edith L. Slocum, third grade students worked with Jill Ferraro to discuss introductory Blocky code and then used a program called Maze Code in KidOYO to create their own code. Students at the district’s other elementary schools also engaged in similar activities.

The celebration week was not the first time Connetquot students had a chance to take part in such activities, as the district’s curriculum includes computer science and engineering activities as part of its Innovation Lab initiative. This project enables K-5 students to work with a dedicated computer science and engineering teacher on a rotating basis and up to 18 sessions throughout the year.

Within the labs, activities vary based on grade level, with K-2 primarily being unplugged and grades 3-5 being plugged activities that scaffold based on skill, but all promote critical thinking, reasoning and problem-solving. Teachers use various devices, such as Bee-Bots, Legos, Maze Code, Ozobots and, new this year, Kibo robots, to provide the content-rich tradition.

The district is on the forefront of introducing this type of robust program at the elementary level, as it is anticipated that New York State will be adopting new computer science standards for grades K-12 in the near future.

Connetquot High School seniors Bipro Das and Melissa Oz conducted scientific research at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s National Synchrotron Light Source II. Through X-ray diffraction studies, they investigated the binding of the TrmD protein from Mycobacterium abscessus with its ligand, S-Adenosyl-l-homocsyteine. The data that Bipro and Melissa collected indicates a possible novel structure, which they will be presenting at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair on Feb. 5, and could one day help scientists develop the next generation of antibiotics.

Connetquot High School hosted its second annual career fair featuring representatives from 20 different companies and organizations who set up informational stations in the gymnasium.Through visiting each station, students learned about a diverse array of post-secondary careers and internship placements, as well as how to pursue these opportunities. The district thanks all those who spent the morning awakening students to the possibilities of their futures.

As a result of their commitment, dedication and scholarly achievement, 35 Connetquot High School students were recently inducted into the building’s chapter of Mu Alpha Theta (MAT), the National Mathematics Honor Society.

Duffield Elementary School students are learning the importance of proper nutrition and economic sustainability thanks to a tower garden initiative coordinated by Youth and Family Services Coordinator Joanne Pisani, M.S., L.M.H.C.

Secured through a donation from CFAC and PPS, the tower garden is being utilized in the second grade classes on a rotational basis. Students are working as horticulturists, planting, cultivating and harvesting the bounty from the garden, which includes kale, lettuce and various other produce. Through lessons with Ms. Pisani, the students are learning that eating healthy foods can help to prevent and reverse disease and that plant foods are the matrix for cells to grow healthy. Following each harvest, the students are treated to a “salad party” in class where they get to taste test the different items grown and even take some home to share with their families. Prior to this year, the tower garden was used in fifth and third grade.

Edward J. Bosti Elementary School fifth grader Brooke Bartell has been named a winner of the Storyworks “Goose Content” sponsored by Scholastic.

Brooke entered the 2019 contest by responding to the question of what she thought would happen in the read-aloud play/fable “The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg” if the main characters had learned their lesson before destroying the goose. She was challenged to rewrite the last scene of the story, showing what the characters realized and what actions they took instead. As a winner, Brooke received a copy of “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” by Grace Lin.

Connetquot High School Business Honor Society students visited with fifth grade students at the Edith L. Slocum Elementary School to share tips on how to make sensible financial choices.

Through hands-on activities and games, students learned a practical approach to possibly starting a business and making smart decisions about managing money. The High School Heroes program is a service-learning project sponsored by Junior Achievement USA that enables high school students to become role models for elementary students.

These “heroes” teach and empower elementary students using lessons centered around work readiness, financial literacy and entrepreneurship. They will visit each of Connetquot’s elementary schools over the course of the year.

John Pearl Elementary School students learned about the importance of taking care of the environment during an interactive assembly program with the Conservation Caper. The show, which was provided by The National Theatre for Children, educated students about conserving energy.

Several seventh grade students at Oakdale-Bohemia Middle School showcased their baking and creative skills as they participated in a Cake Wars event. Working in teams, the students designed and prepared their cakes before presenting them to a panel of judges!

During the sixth annual Choral Arts Day, eighth grade choir members from Oakdale-Bohemia and Ronkonkoma Middle Schools spent a day at the High School singing with ninth through 12th grade singers and experiencing what it means to be a part of the award-winning high school choral program. To quote the teachers, "there is nothing quite like 400 young people singing together!"

Idle Hour Elementary School Student Government members, along with their advisers Lori Gehrke and Lara McNally as well as social work intern Ashley Gugliuzzo, recently volunteered their time to help spread some holiday cheer. The team gathered to help the Oakdale Civic Association decorate the train station for the holidays. The students and other volunteers put bows up and down the fences as well as the platforms on both sides of the tracks.

For the fifth year in a row, students at Cherokee Street Elementary School spread holiday cheer by writing letters to Santa for Macy’s National Believe Day, when the company donates $2 to Make-A-Wish for each letter submitted. Make-A-Wish is a non-profit organization that makes dreams come true for children diagnosed with critical illnesses. This season, these caring students wrote a record-breaking 630 letters to Santa, totaling a $1,260 donation!

After reading the classic holiday book in their classrooms, faculty at two Connetquot Central School District elementary schools recently brought the spirit of “The Polar Express” to students and their families through grade-wide events.

At Sycamore Avenue Elementary School, kindergartners eagerly listened to holiday stories and participated in crafts, bingo and dreidel activities. According to teacher Danielle Wille, “Everyone enjoyed a festive morning, rotating through holiday-themed stations in their cozy PJs.”

At Edward J. Bosti Elementary School, teacher Nichole Johnson and her colleagues decorated the school’s atrium with a locomotive, a passenger car, an oversized bell hanging from the ceiling and railroad images adorning the tables. Pre-K students sang holiday songs and even received a surprise visit from a special friend — Santa Claus! After Santa handed out books and treats to the children, Connetquot Central School District Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lynda G. Adams joined Principal Laura Kimball to thank the students and their families for a fun afternoon and wished them a safe and joyful holiday season.

As a result of her exceptional talents in the classroom and on the volleyball court, Connetquot Central School District senior Julia Patsos has earned a News12 Scholar Athlete award.

As a winner, Julia was featured on News12 LI and received a $1,000 college scholarship from Bethpage Federal Credit Union.
Please click the link below to see the feature story on Julia!

http://longisland.news12.com/clip/14965463/scholar-athlete-julia-patsos

Did you know that the district posts weekly sports updates from our high school teams? Check out our website and Facebook page on Friday afternoons to catch up on how the T-Birds are doing this season!

For news, information and updates, please visit our official communication channels often!