It wasn’t a coincidence that hundreds of students in the North Bellmore School District were wearing sports jerseys on May 28. It was the product of the annual Democracy in Action initiative in partnership with the PTA Coordinating Council.

When parents came to vote in the school budget and board of education trustee election on May 20 at Newbridge Road School, their children could also vote for a spirit day. Computers were set up at a student voting station with the four choices – decades day, Disney/superhero day, future career day and sports jersey day.

There were 700 votes cast in the student vote. The results were tallied and jersey day emerged as the winner, garnering a plurality of 37.5%. The theme and date were then announced at each school. Many children wore shirts for their favorite professional teams, while others wore their own youth league jerseys. Lots of teachers and staff members joined in on the fun as well. 

Click here to view the Students Have Their Say: Sports Jerseys slideshow.

Date Added: 5/30/2025

With their future high school standing tall in the background, sixth graders from the North Bellmore School District had a picturesque day for the annual track meet on May 19. The sun was shining and a steady breeze was a delight for the runners who participated in several different competitions.

The event brought together nearly 300 soon-to-be graduates from John G. Dinkelmeyer, Martin Avenue, Newbridge Road, Park Avenue and Saw Mill Road elementary schools. Students proudly wore their respective Class of 2025 shirts. The setting was the track at Mepham High School, a place they will become familiar with following a two-year stop in middle school.

Physical education teachers coordinated the track meet, which consisted of short- and long-distance races. The events spanned from 50-meter sprints to the 800-meter race that was two laps around the track. There were also four-person relay races. Students practiced for their different events in the weeks prior during physical education classes.

Parents and family members were invited to sit in the bleachers and cheer on the students. Sixth graders left with pride for their elementary schools and with excitement for a future together with all their North Bellmore peers.

Click here to view the Track Meet Unites North Bellmore Sixth Graders slideshow.

Date Added: 5/27/2025

First graders celebrated both the written and spoken word during a poetry celebration at Park Avenue Elementary School on May 14. Family members were invited to share in the accomplishments of the young writers.

Students were immersed in a month-long poetry unit in April led by teachers Patricia Assande, Mary Berry, Amanda Baxter and Alexa Laskowitz. They learned about all different styles of poems, then wrote original pieces. After a few weeks, they had created personal collections with acrostic and rhyming poems, haikus and more.

The celebration began with a grade-level assembly in auditorium. Students sang several songs they had been rehearsing with music teacher Carol Ng, such as “It’s You I Like” and “What a Wonderful Poem.” Together, they also recited the “Kind of Deeds” and “I Can’t Wait” poems.

Back in the classrooms, each student read aloud one piece from his or her poetry collection. Children then sat with their special guests and flipped through a class poetry book that was a keepsake for every family.

Click here to view the Proud Poets Perform and Present at Park Avenue slideshow.

Date Added: 5/23/2025

The cheers were loud, as 225 cereal boxes fell like dominoes on May 15, the culmination of a student-led charitable endeavor at Newbridge Road Elementary School in the North Bellmore School District.

The cereal box challenge that has gained in popularity from YouTube videos made its first appearance at Newbridge Road because of the efforts of third graders Isabella Braun and Michaela Miskiewicz. After watching some of those viral videos, they wrote a letter to Principal Amanda Licci, who then invited the young philanthropists in for a meeting. From there, the fundraiser was born.

Donation bins for small, medium and large cereal boxes were placed around the school from May 5-14 so students and staff could donate. The morning after the collection ended, Isabella, Michaela and several of their classmates set up the boxes down the first floor hallway and into the auditorium where it ended in the shape of a heart in an homage to the school’s slogan, “Newbridge has HEART.”

“I think it went great,” Michaela said. “It was very fun to do this to donate to charity.”

“It felt very successful,” added Isabella, who loved the enthusiasm from other students as they lined the hallways and filled the auditorium to watch the boxes fall. “We collected a lot of food and I like that.”

The cereal was donated St. John’s Bread of Life, one of the largest emergency food providers in Brooklyn, which last year had 445,000 visits. Sisters Marie Sorenson and Caroline Tweedy were on hand to watch the boxes fall and accept the donation. They explained that each box of cereal will provide breakfast for eight people.

“They’re really helping to serve families who are in need,” Sister Caroline said of the Newbridge Road students.

The connection to St. John’s Bread of Life was made through Michaela’s mother, Nicole Miskiewicz, who works for St. John’s University. Some of her colleagues also donated boxes of cereal, which were used for the event on May 15.

Isabella and Michaela got to push the first box down and watch the domino effect take place. They said it took about an hour to set up as there was some trial and error along the way to make sure the final fall would be a success. The girls are students in Brenda Adragna’s class, which watches calming videos following their movement breaks, and one recent video they saw was a compilation of dominoes falling. That’s when Michaela and Isabella recalled seeing cereal box challenge videos and wanted to do the same at their school. Once the idea was approved, their classmates helped make signs to promote cereal box donations.

“I love when students come up with initiatives that we can put into action,” Ms. Licci said, who added that the school always strives to empower students to take on leadership roles. “It’s so uplifting when ideas come from the children, and helping others is certainly in line with our mission and our core values.”

Click here to view the Newbridge Students Spearhead Cereal Box Fundraiser slideshow.

Date Added: 5/20/2025

As they become more fluent in the Spanish language, fourth graders at Park Avenue Elementary School are now hearing from native speakers.

During a “Where are you from?” lesson, students watched videos from people native to different Spanish-speaking countries. They had to listen carefully as each person said his or her city of origin and match it on a list. Teacher Kristen Giris played each video four times, and students were asked to listen twice while their eyes were closed. This allowed them to eliminate distractions and fine tune their ears as they listened for the location, she explained.

Ms. Giris said that hearing authentic voices is important to mastering another language. She noted that there is a difference in hearing Spanish spoken by native Spanish speakers versus native English speakers.

North Bellmore students receive Spanish instruction in fourth, fifth and sixth grade. Even if they choose to study a different language when they reach the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, they can apply the language acquisition and listening strategies they learned in elementary school. Answering questions from listening passages is also part of world language testing in middle school and high school.

The “Where are you from?” lesson is part of an overall unit on personal identification. Students explore vocabulary for biographical information, physical and character traits, and likes and interests, then complete “All About Me” projects in Spanish.

Click here to view the Learning Spanish Through Listening at Park Avenue slideshow.

Date Added: 5/16/2025