We’re excited to highlight two of Duffield’s fifth grade clubs as they finish for the year. The Knitting Club mastered new skills and created beautiful scarves just in time for the colder weather. Meanwhile, the Computer Science Club wrapped up their independent projects in Sprite Editor during their KidOYO class. Congratulations to our top three winners! It’s been a fantastic year of learning and creativity for both!

Click here to view the Duffield Club Highlights slideshow.

 

Date Added: 2/11/2025

On Feb. 5, students at Helen B. Duffield Elementary took part in Global School Play Day, an event designed to encourage independent play and creativity. For the special day, students brought in their favorite toys and games from home, creating an atmosphere of fun and camaraderie as they played in groups.

During Global School Play Day, students are encouraged to engage in free play without the use of screens, structured games or adult direction. The idea is to let children explore their creativity, problem-solving skills and social interactions in an unstructured and spontaneous environment.

It’s believed that play is a crucial aspect of a child’s social, emotional and cognitive development. Global School Play Day was created to bring attention to the value of play in learning and to foster a global conversation about the role of play in education.

Click here to view the Duffield Elementary celebrates Global School Play Day slideshow.

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