Fifth grade C-Quest students from Cherokee Street, Slocum and Duffield elementaries studied financial literacy for several weeks prior to their field trip to Commerce Plaza, “the children’s business center”, in Levittown.

While at Commerce Plaza, each student received a “job” for the day and had a bank account, checks and a debit card. They performed their job within the Commerce Plaza community, and all worked together to “run their businesses”. Places of work included Capital One, Jovia Credit Union, the chamber of commerce, a medical center and a newspaper, for example, with jobs such as bookkeeper, manager, physician, nurse and recycling manager, amongst others. Students held a community meeting at the start and end of their “business day”.

Click here to view the C-Quest students practice business skills at Commerce Plaza slideshow.

Date Added: 1/21/2025

Fifth grade students from across the district in the C-Quest Enrichment Program chose a word that either defined them or chose a word to set a goal for the year.

After choosing their one word, they explored the outdoors, looking for the letters in their word. Using iPads, they photographed the letters then edited, enhanced through filtering, cropped and uploaded them to Google Slides. The slides were then printed, and the letters were cut out and put onto a poster, spelling their word in their environmental print! During their poetry unit, students wrote a free verse poem using their word in their poem.

Click here to view the 5th Grade C-Quest students’ One Word project slideshow.

Date Added: 1/14/2025

To start off a unit about structures, fourth graders across the district in the C-Quest Enrichment Program studied the Fire Island Lighthouse. Students visited the lighthouse on a field trip, climbing the tower of 182 steps up and down. They also went on a nature walk to learn about the area, saw the Fresnel lens and participated in a United States Lifesaving Service presentation.

Afterwards, students created non-fiction, informational posters summarizing what they learned on their visit. They also took part in a culminating activity on electrical energy, building a model of the lighthouse which included a working electrical circuit.

Click here to view the 4th Grade C-Quest students visit Fire Island Lighthouse slideshow.

Date Added: 1/14/2025

The annual Dimes for Dezy fundraiser held at Cherokee Street Elementary raised a total of $1,279 for those struggling with cancer.

The Dezy Strong Foundation is a non-profit organization established by Matthew “Dezy” DiStefano, who was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer in February of 2019 and passed away in January of 2020. Dezy was a Sachem High School North alumni, teacher and coach whose family lives in the Connetquot Central School District.

This year, to promote a little friendly competition and motivation, Cherokee Street used a “house system” to collect donations. Each student and staff member were placed in a house to promote a sense of community across grade levels. The houses included “unity”, “dreamers”, “kindness”, “friendship”, “uplifters” and “courage”.

With the help of faculty members Mrs. Passero and Mrs. Campanella, Dezy’s son, Giovanni DiStefano, a student at Cherokee Street Elementary, ran the fundraiser to continue the work of his father.

Dezy’s mantra of, “we get to” lives on in the school building and beyond, helping to build positivity with a focus on gratitude in everyday life. Each year on Dezy Day, students watch a video, explaining the meaning of the day, and fill out paper ribbons, completing the phrase, “We get to”. This officially kicks off the two-week fundraiser run by Giovanni DiStefano and Mrs. Campanella.

Date Added: 1/3/2025

Students from the Future Teachers of America program at Connetquot High School led an inspiring lesson on kindness for first and second graders at Cherokee Street Elementary.

The lesson began with a reading of “How Full Is Your Bucket?”  by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer. In the story, Felix, the main character, learns that every interaction he has throughout the day either fills or empties his “bucket.” As Felix discovers, positive actions not only make others feel good, but they also f his own bucket with happiness. The story served as the perfect foundation for a discussion on how small acts of kindness can create a ripple effect.

Following the reading, the first and second graders participated in an interactive “bucket-filling” activity. Each student was given a cup, and as they complimented one another or shared kind words, they added a pompom into another student’s cup. By the end of the activity, the cups were filled with colorful pompoms, visually representing the positive impact kindness can have.

The students then completed a reflection worksheet that asked questions such as, “What was the nicest thing someone said to you?” and “How can you fill someone’s bucket outside of school?” This reflective exercise encouraged the students to think about the importance of kindness not just in school but in their everyday lives.

Click here to view the CHS Future Teachers of America share the power of kindness with Cherokee Street slideshow.

Date Added: 12/9/2024