Winthrop Avenue School students applied their knowledge of the district’s Leadership Principles and Core Values to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Fourth grade virtual students in Carolyn Buckley’s class at Winthrop Avenue School created a mosaic after reading and discussing books and videos about the former leader. Through a virtual platform, the students were assigned a puzzle piece and worked together to edit and complete the final product. Once all of the individual pieces were completed, Mrs. Buckley put the pieces together. The class decided to include the theme “Near or far, we can accomplish great things TOGETHER.” A follow-up discussion among classmates emphasized the importance of Synergy and Being Proactive and determined that the mural would not be complete with any one of the pieces missing.

Third graders in Victoria Seropian’s class read and discussed Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and wrote about dreams for themselves, the community, and the world. The writings were transferred to cloud-shaped forms and connected by a larger cloud that was titled “I Have a Dream.” The students displayed their writing for peers to read.

After reading Doreen Rappaport’s “Martin’s BIG Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” Stacey Reiner’s third graders discussed the character traits associated with Dr. King words and actions. These traits including courage, kindness, empathy, tolerance, and respect. As part of their own writing, the students chose a character trait and described how they model this trait in their own lives. The class also discussed how Dr. King’s words help to remind us, even today, the importance of inclusivity and being an upstander in the community.

Winthrop Avenue School fourth grade teacher Alexandra Grodin and librarian Marjorie Falabella developed a multidisciplinary unit incorporating science, photography, technology and English language arts for Bellmore students to study snowflakes. The unit culminated with a videoconference with microphotography expert Michael Peres, a Rochester Institute of Technology professor from the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences and College of Art and Design.

Prior to their video conference, the students delved into books about snowflakes, including Jacqueline Briggs Martin’s “Snowflake Bentley,” Mark Cassino’s “The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder” and Neil Waldman’s “The Snowflake: A Water Cycle Story.”

The students viewed videos that demonstrated how snowflakes develop, as viewed under a microscopic camera, and learned about the different types of snowflakes, such as prisms, plates and stellar dendrites. They also learned about snowflake symmetry and created their own paper snowflakes, carefully incorporating symmetry and paper-folding principles. They were even able to take advantage of the season’s first snow to conduct classroom experiments.

Ms. Falabella also shared her interest in snowflake photography and having been influenced by Wilson Bentley, known as Snowflake Bentley, the first known person to take detailed photographs of snowflakes and to record their features.

All of the students’ investigatory study of snowflakes paid off as they prepared for Michael Peres’ videoconference by exploring his website presentation “Snowflakes Up Close.” They also viewed his museum exhibit at the Rochester Museum and Science Center and received the opportunity for an up-close view of Snowflake Bentley’s journal, loaned by The Buffalo Museum and Science Center. During the videoconference, Professor Peres shared his art of microphotography and the students were able to ask him questions about his work and passion as a microphotographer.

Ms. Grodin said, “This videoconference was a wonderful way for students to witness how a small interest becomes a hobby that leads to a passion.”