North Bellmore Students Get Ready For Learning

Desks were covered in notebooks, folders, three-ring binders and pencil cases as students unpacked and sorted their supplies in preparation for a new year of learning in the North Bellmore School District.

The school year began on Sept. 4 for the nearly 2,100 students in kindergarten through sixth-grade at the district’s five elementary schools. The day began with introductions, like in Lynda Brust’s third-grade classroom at Newbridge Road Elementary School, where children gathered in a circle and shared some information about themselves. Stephanie Meehan’s students went on a classroom scavenger hunt to find important places like the coat hooks, the specials schedule, the reading library and their cubbies.

Among the themes in the district this year are mindfulness and growth mindset. Students are teachers alike are encouraged to live in the present and treasure the “miracle moments” that happen every day, in addition to adopting a mentality that there is always more to learn.

Park Avenue Elementary School sixth-grader Mia Stellmann said she was excited for the many learning opportunities ahead this year, including on field trips to Project Adventure, Caumsett State Park and the DNA lab at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. She also is excited that she will switch classes for science, social studies and technology, which will prepare her for the transition to middle school.

“Being a sixth-grader means you have to be a model for the younger students,” Mia added. “You have to work hard and take responsibility for your actions.”

Photos courtesy North Bellmore School District