Despite an up and down stock market over the past several months, North Bellmore students once again succeeded in the Stock Market Game, an annual simulation hosted by the SIFMA Foundation. The district boasted two of the top three teams in the region.

Fifth and sixth graders from the district’s ALPHA gifted and talented program took part in the competition, which gives students insight into the stock market and financial management. Each team received $100,000 in fictitious money to invest.

The first place team included Park Avenue Elementary School fifth graders Colin Crichton and Daniel Fu, and Saw Mill Road Elementary School students Youssef Badad, Matthew Ferrantello and Matthew Lutwick. They finished the simulation with $108,623.23. The team mostly stuck to its initial investments, which included a significant amount of Tesla stock.

Ms. Angert explained that one of the requirements of the game is that teams diversify their portfolios, so no more than one-third of their money can be invested in a single company. The group was leading a field of 91 teams for most of the competition, had a late drop to ninth place, but their stocks rebounded to put them back at the top.

“I didn’t know how stocks worked,” Youssef said. “I just thought you bought stocks and got money.”

Coming in third place was a group of Saw Mill Road fifth graders, including Anthony Apicella, Cody Gaskin, Ryan Lay and Dagur Moi. Their total was $103,435.97. The team’s strategy was different than the other group, as they did frequent transactions throughout the competition.

Ms. Angert said this was definitely and interesting year for the Stock Market Game because of the turbulence of the market recently. Students learned how to analyze trends while gaining some knowledge they can use to manage their money as adults.

“I’m so proud of our young investors,” she said. “The fifth graders are looking forward to playing again next year.”

Date Added: 5/17/2022

Whether they need to test their knowledge of the 50 states or multiplication tables, third graders at Saw Mill Road Elementary School love to turn to Blooket.

Third grade teacher Elyse Beauman said the interactive digital resource has quickly become a hit with her students, who use it on their iPads. The competition-style games have students energized get answers correct and top the class leaderboard, which is displayed on the SmartBoard.

One popular game is Tower Defense. Students have to protect their towers by earning points for each correct answer in a game. There are different challenges, like alien invasions, which tests their defense so they benefit from getting more answers right.

“Any subject, we can find something for it,” Ms. Beauman said, adding they her class has used Blooket to review animal groups, prefixes and suffixes, and much more.

Date Added: 5/13/2022

The primary mission of the North Bellmore School District is to educate children and prepare them for a prosperous future. To mark national Teacher Appreciation Week from May 2-6, we celebrate the 212 teachers who help our students grow, find their passions and achieve success.

North Bellmore’s teaching staff includes professionals with a wide range of specialties. Instruction begins with our 97 classroom teachers, from kindergarten through sixth grade, across five elementary schools. The district also has two dozen special education teachers and 21 special-area teachers, which includes art, computer science, health and wellness, library, music and physical education teachers.

The faculty also includes an ALPHA gifted and talented teacher, assistive technology specialist, band and orchestra directors, ENL teachers, occupational therapist, psychologists, reading specialists, school counselors, speech pathologists and social workers.

Assistant Superintendent Janet Pollitt said that while the teachers work across multiple schools, grade levels and departments, they share a special bond as one professional learning community, with a shared dedication to the students.

“What’s special about the North Bellmore teachers is the collegiality that our faculty share not just within the separate buildings but across the district,” Ms. Pollitt said.

Ms. Pollitt said that teachers are particularly committed to their craft, as evidenced by their participation in professional development opportunities. She noted their active participation in afterschool and summer training sessions, offered both within the district and at educational institutions across Long Island. It’s all in the service of providing the best education to students, she explained.

North Bellmore’s family of educators is comprised of veteran teachers, many of whom have been in the district for more than 20 and 30 years, as well as newcomers who have joined the faculty within the last few years.

Teachers are always willing to step up and help out the community, as their influence extends beyond the classroom walls. They organize collections for the Community Cupboard, support local families who have experienced a tragedy and raise money for various charitable organizations.

“Our teachers create a nurturing and supportive classroom environment, and are always willing to go the extra mile for their students,” Superintendent Marie Testa said. “We couldn’t be more appreciative of our dedicated and passionate teachers, who bring joy to their classrooms and joy to their students every day.”

Date Added: 5/5/2022

Although Earth Day fell during spring break this year, the student council at Saw Mill Road Elementary School still wanted to do something good for their planet.

On April 28, fifth and sixth grade student leaders did some weeding in the garden in front of the school. Joined by Assistant Principal Daniel Madden, they spent some time removing weeds to help provide healthier soil, as well as more water and nutrients, for other plants in the garden such as tulips.

“This helps new plants to grow, which helps our ecosystem,” fifth grade Mia Quaranto said.

Kyrk Peponakis said he wanted to do his part to help the Earth, while Fizah Khan said small efforts to help the environment are for everyone’s benefit. James Canner explained that taking on this project sets an example for other students about the positive contributions they can make for their school.

“It shows the younger kids how we step into action,” James said.

Date Added: 5/3/2022

April 3-9 marks National Library Week and we celebrate North Bellmore’s school librarians, Laura Stasi and Yvonne Francolini, for their valuable role in educating children, fostering a love of reading and teaching digital citizenship.

All students in grades K-3 have library has part of their rotation of special-area classes, and children in grades 4-6 visit to check out and return books. Please watch this video, in which North Bellmore students share why they are grateful for our librarians:

Date Added: 4/6/2022