A Spirited First Day In Massapequa

There were plenty of smiles on the faces of students as they reunited with their friends, met their new teachers and unpacked supplies from their brand new backpacks as Massapequa’s nine schools opened up for the first day of the 2019-20 school year on Sept. 5. Parents said goodbye at the front doors, but not before taking lots of pictures.

At Lockhart Elementary School, new Principal Dr. Michael Yannucci greeted students for the first time and together they looked forward to the year ahead. He was joined by new Assistant Principal Louisa Vecchione, a former teacher and technology learning coach in the district.

Dr. Kristi Gerhard welcomed children back to Fairfield Elementary School, her first time doing so as principal after four years as assistant principal. She and new Assistant Principal Katie Fernandez greeted students and helped them find their classrooms.

Fairfield fifth graders Kyle Scavone and Sara Kichnerman said they want to do well in all of their subjects this year, their last before middle school. Kyle said he is looking forward to the activities that are unique for fifth graders, such as the year-end bagel breakfast to sign each other’s yearbooks. Sara said that she wants to set a good example for the younger students in the school.

At Berner Middle School, sixth graders had class for the first time together with their peers from across the district. Coming from six elementary schools, the students participated in many team-building activities. ELA co-teachers Amy Curry and Adrienne Parker spearheaded a chalk talk, in which students went around the room and responded to certain prompts on the white boards, to get to know each other better. Some of the questions included “What is your favorite subject and why?” “What are you most excited about this year at Berner?” and “What was your favorite summer memory?”

Sixth grade science teacher Matthew Cunha had students work in teams to complete a STEAM challenge in which they had to make a pyramid out of red plastic cups without touching the cups with their hands. Brian Mulcahy had his science students build towers out of paper and tape, to prepare them for a year of hands-on experiments.