More than 30 students from the North Bellmore School District were selected for this year’s All-County music festival, hosted by the Nassau Music Educators Association. Rehearsals and concerts are taking place from Jan. 7-18. 

Fifth and sixth grade students from the band, chorus and orchestra were selected based on NYSSMA solo performance scores and teacher recommendations.  

Congratulations to the following students: 

John G. Elementary Dinkelmeyer School: Ethan Andreu, Elliana Fidacaro, Arianna Lettieri,Brooke Murphy, Ella Piazza, Brooke Sheehan and Ella Sjoberg. 

Martin Avenue Elementary School: Alex Caba, Isabelle Dang and Lylah Jakubowski. 

Newbridge Elementary Road: Cecelia Barone, Andrew Boylan, Nina Cannistraci, Marion Chelsea DeJesus, Hunter Outsen, Arielle Zhang and Maya Zucker. 

Park Avenue Elementary School: Marco Artale, Veronica Calise, Anaya Chandhok, Caleb Cheung, Hadley Hollander, Elora Rosello and Destiny Zosike.  

Saw Mill Road Elementary School: Sienna Burmann, Ryan Diaz, Judith Guzman, Kerha lorvena, Vincent Merle, Gianna Toledo and Eliana Weissman. 

Five orchestra students will also participate in the Long Island String Festival Association’s Nassau Intermediate festival from Feb. 27-March 1. Those students are Arianna Lettieri (Dinkelmeyer), Marion Chelsea DeJesus (Newbridge Road), Lucia Rodriguez and DestinyZosike (Park Avenue) and Vincent Merle (Saw Mill Road).

Click here to view the North Bellmore Musicians Bound for Regional Restivals slideshow.

 

Date Added: 1/12/2026

 

Children love coloring and they also love making people happy, so second graders found the perfect community service project at Martin Avenue Elementary School. 

Students in Mary Carrea’s and Antoinetta Fischetti’s classes partnered with Color A Smile, a New Jersey-based, nonprofit organization that spreads smiles with cheerful drawings. The student-colored pictures are distributed to hospitals, nursing homes, meals on wheels programs and troops overseas.  

In early December, second graders colored the drawings with crayons and markers. The pictures of butterflies, flowers, ladybugs and more included cheerful messages like “Have a Great Day,” “Enjoy Today” and “To My Friend.” Students from the two classes completed more than 50 drawings, which will be sent to the organization and distributed to others during the holiday season. While they mostly worked on the projects in school, several students also colored at home with their families.  

Ms. Carrea and Ms. Fischetti said that the students will continue their work with Color A Smile several more times, as the organization collects and distributes the drawings year round. They decided to kick it off in December, which is known as the season of giving.  

Click here to view the Second Grades Spread Smiles Through Coloring slideshow.

 

Date Added: 12/19/2025

A solar phenomenon was the inspiration for a third grade art project at Martin Avenue Elementary School. Students completed drawings to capture the northern lights.  

Teacher Erica Farley said the purpose of the project was to give her young artists a chance to experiment with different materials, as they worked with charcoal pencils, chalk pencils and oil pastels. To make the northern lights, students ripped a piece of paper, colored the uneven edge with chalk pastels, and swiped it on the blue construction paper so the colors faded into the sky. 

Students also practiced drawing reflections and silhouettes, as they pictures included animals, mountains and trees. Ms. Farley said that students complete a landscape project each year in art, and this was a chance to for third graders to explore some more advanced concepts and techniques. 

Date Added: 12/11/2025

 

String students from North Bellmore’s five elementary schools came together for the annual District Orchestra Winter Concert on Dec. 8 at the Brookside School. Proud parents, siblings, teachers and administrators filled the auditorium to enjoy holiday and winter tunes. 

The young musicians learned the concert music together during early morning districtwide rehearsals over the last several months, as well as during their small-group lessons. The fifth grade ensemble was conducted by Patrice Ryan and the sixth grade group was led by Lisa Uckardes. Individual school winter concerts are also taking place throughout December. 

Date Added: 12/9/2025