Fifth grade students in Mrs. Isleman’s music class at Cherokee Street Elementary learned an important lesson regarding one of the nation’s most highly regarded civil rights activists, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

As an introduction to the history of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the class explored the powerful hymn, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” written by poet James Weldon Johnson in 1899.

Students learned about the song’s historical significance and its themes of freedom, hope and racial equality. After discussing the meaning of the lyrics, the class practiced singing the anthem before breaking into small groups to physically act out the message that their respective verse was meant to convey.

This hands-on lesson helped students connect with Dr. King’s message, fostering a deeper appreciation for the values of unity, justice and equality.

 

Date Added: 1/28/2025

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

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

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

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