Levittown District Notebook: Division Helps St. Jude, Summit Lane Students Have a Dream

Division Competes for St. Jude's

Division Avenue High School's National Honor Society will hold its major fundraiser for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital next week.

The annual St. Jude trivia contest divides all students into teams that compete in a single elimination Jeopardy-like tournament.  The teams will face off after school on February 16, and the finalists will compete against a team of teachers at 7 p.m. that evening. 

Division Avenue High School’s National Honor Society has supported St. Jude’s for eight years, including efforts to encourage the community to lend a helping hand.  The Honor Society raises money by selling raffles, creating a memorial wall decoration and collecting donations from families and neighbors. Their current donation record is $2,000.

If you wish to contribute to St. Jude’s in the name of Division Avenue High School, please visit this website: https://waystohelp.stjude.org/sjVPortal/public/event/page/displayEventPage.do?programId=2002&eventId=195146

Summit Lane Students Have a Dream
Second-grade students in Ms. Burns’ class at Summit Lane Elementary School learned lessons about accepting differences and promoting peace after studying the life of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The students not only read about this historical figure, but also watched a clip of The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss. Ms. Burns then instructed the students to compare three apples. The purpose of the lesson was to form an analogy that people, like apples, may all look different, but are similar inside. It also taught the students about judging people.

While the students ate their apples, they created “Dream Doves.” On each dove, the students wrote their dreams for a better world and displayed them in the school.

Doing Math for a Good Cause
About 100 Wisdom Lane Middle School sixth-graders raised over $4,100 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and sharpened their math skills while helping children with serious illnesses.

This is Wisdom’s 23rd year of being involved with this amazing hospital. Over the years, the students have raised almost $112,000 by solving math problems and getting family and friends to sponsor them.

Wisdom’s participation in the Math-A-Thon helps make it possible for St. Jude to treat patients regardless of a family’s ability to pay. In addition to the money raised, the students learned about the importance of helping others.

Sixth-grade teacher Laura Koenig is proud of this year’s participants and is thankful for all the support provided by the staff at Wisdom.

Blue Devils Receive Howie Vogts Award

The Levittown School District is proud to announce that the Division Avenue High School varsity football team received the Howie Vogts Memorial Award for being the most improved team in Nassau County. The award is given in honor of legendary Bethpage High School Varsity Football Coach Howie Vogts and was presented to the team during the annual Gridiron Dinner. The Nassau County Coaches Association votes each year to select the honored team.

Under the direction of coach Raymond Weidlein, the Blue Dragons' record was 6-2 for the 2011 season, a dramatic improvement from last year's 1-7 record.