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Image provided by: Suffolk Cooperative Library System
December 2 ,2010, BEACON SHOPPER • 15C Babylon District encouraging students to develop healthy habits Fourth and fifth graders in the West Islip School District, working under the direction of teachers Vivian Hol- linger and Theresa Robertson, partici pated in an Elementary Research Club known as the W.O.W. Kids (Watching Our Waters). The children studied the Great South Bay and the effects that fertilizers have on local waters. Testing was performed on turf samples using fertilizers and organic matter. The chil dren tested the run-off that occurred on the turf samples for nitrate levels and concluded that the organic fertil izer had resulted in lower nitrate lev els. From this investigation, they made their own organic fertilizer and shared the recipe with the community at Cel ebrate Education Night in May 2010. The children are currently complet ing a children’s picture book to help educate others about the harmful effect of pesticides and fertilizers on our local waters. They have also created t-shirts that can be purchased on line to help raise money for additional research that will help to combat the effects that these chemicals have on the environ ment. According to Hollinger, inter ested parties can support the cause by purchasing a shirt on iloveearth.com. All of their research was submitted into national competition, The Dis ney Planet Challenge, where the chil dren were awarded state runner-up status. Roberson commented that she was impressed by the great teamwork of the Elementary Research Team. Shown in the photo, the team was honored by the Board o f Education dur ing its October public session. The Babylon School District not only strives to help students develop healthy minds but also healthy bodies. Through the District’s curriculum students learn about the importance of p roper nutri tion, regular exercise, and how both help students succeed in the classroom. As an extension of the school’s curri culum, Babylon Junior-Senior High School conducted an assembly pro gram on heart health for students in grades seven through 12. During the program, Pediatric Car diologist of Long Island Dr. Sean Lev- chuk presented a workshop called Nu trition for Sports Performance - Keeping Your H eart Healthy. Dr. Levchuk spoke with the students about the four major food groups, how food affects the mus- cles, the importance of water, vitamins and the proper nutrition guidelines athletes should follow before, during, and after games. Encouraging students to make healthy changes now, Dr. Levchuk stated “Remember, even the smallest change can carry big results. If you take care of yourself now you will be in bet ter shape for the future and will be able to tackle challenges both on the field and in the classroom.” The District hopes to conduct a si milar workshop with Dr. Levchuk for parents in the future. Several students are pictured here With presenter Dr. Sean Levchuk, cen ter, school nurse Grace McHugh, R.N., and Principal Robert Visbal. West Islip students participate in Deer Park students attend annual Robotics Competition Students from 17 participating high schools took part in the Sixth annual Deer Park Invitational, a postseason robotics competition sp o n -! sored by the School Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI), FIRST (For \ Inspiration and Rec ognition of Science and Technology) and the Deer Park School District. The daylong competition challenged students’ engineering skills as they worked together to solve intricate problems and engaged in friendly competi tion. At the event, students programmed their robots to compete on a 27-by-54-foot playing field setup in the high school’s gymnasium and attempted to earn points by collecting soccer balls in goals. Additional bonus points were earned for each robot suspended in air and not touching the field at the end of the match. Shown in the photo, the Deer Park High School R obotics Team designed, built and controlled Robot 270fo r the Deer Park Invitational. North Babylon elementary schools host blood drives Fourth graders in the North Baby lon School District donned scrubs and surgical masks as they “assisted” Long Island Blood Services with an nual blood drives within the District during October and .November. The students learned about blood compo nents - includ ing platelets, red and white blood cells - within the classroom as part of (he Body Systems Curriculum. The “Lit tle Doctors” shared their knowledge ¡with parents, faculty and community members during blood drives at elemientary schools throughout the district. This annual event is an opportunity for young students to learn the sig nificant role blood plays in our bodies,! as well as to remind parents and com munity members, about the importance* of donating blood for those in need. Students at the Marion G. Vedder Elementary School in North Babylon donned scrubs as they helped the Long Island Blood Services with a blood drive on Oct 28.
