Children are learning math in many different ways at Northwest Elementary School. Teachers Jaclyn Wittschiebe and Mackenzie Sipp, who co-teach a first-grade class, have implemented math rotations.            

Using resources from Go Math, students are divided into groups of no more than six and rotate through various centers. The children review skills with their teachers using manipulatives such as blocks and small white boards. They play math games in pairs, work independently to solve problems in their workbooks, and do activities on Chromebooks to become more familiar with technology. 

The new year at Northwest Elementary School in the Amityville Union Free School District began with a building-wide art project. Under the direction of art teacher Lydia Robinson, students in first through third grades decorated small paper clouds.

Each child was asked to include their name, a self-portrait and drawings that reflect their likes and interests. The approximately 700 colorful paper clouds were hung on the wall outside the art room surrounding the phrase, “Art is like a dream and we are the dreamers.”   

“I wanted to give every student a chance to get their work on the wall at the beginning of the year,” Ms. Robinson said. “They really enjoyed doing this project.”