During their May meeting, the Merrick Board of Education and administration honored the district’s students who were selected for this year’s Nassau County All-County Art Exhibit held at Farmingdale State College in March. All-County artists were nominated by their respective art teachers, who, along with their principal, awarded them certificates of recognition for demonstrating exemplary creativity in their artwork.

Congratulations to the following students and their teachers:

Birch School:
Elena H. 
Matthew K.
Matthew R.
Teacher: Cory Gerard

Chatterton School:
Ryan K. 
Bridget L. 
Bianca P. 
Teacher: Justine Dujardin

Lakeside School:
Aliza B. 
Rosina P. 
Samantha T.
Teacher: Alexandra Muzek

This year, more than 400 art educators from more than 200 schools in 50 Nassau County school districts submitted student artwork for this prestigious exhibit. Merrick Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dominick Palma is pictured congratulating students along with their respective principals and art teachers. 




 

On March 29 the Lakeside Student Council Crew held their annual dance-a-thon. It was a blast! The Lakeside fourth, fifth and sixth graders danced for the Sunrise Day Camp and Phoenix House. We raised $2,643 for the Phoenix House and $3,211 for the Sunrise Day Camp. In total, we raised $5,854. At the dance-a-thon the students won prizes, and sang and danced to all the songs played by the DJ and dancers from Party Harty, which donated their services because we were dancing for charities that day. We owe them a HUGE thank-you!

There was also an amazing photographer that took many pictures of the students having fun. Everyone at the dance-a-thon wore the same T-shirt, which was handed out the day before the big event. The T-shirt was designed by Luca Kaplan, a fourth grader at Levy Lakeside. During the dance-a-thon, the kids signed each other’s shirts so they would have a keepsake from this special event. Other fun activities included The Coke & Pepsi Game, Simon Says and a dance circle. 

The dance-a-thon was one of the most fun events of the school year. The best part was that while we were having so much fun, we were doing so much to help others!

–written by Leah P.

This year, while the upper grade-level kids were preparing for the annual danceathon, the Student Council Crew wanted to get ALL the Lakeside Lions in a giving spirit. During the danceathon week, the crew held a collection for the Community Cupboard. We collected toiletries, nonperishable foods and cleaning products. 

The Community Cupboard is a food pantry where 30-40 Merrick/Bellmore families can shop each week. The Cupboard is housed at the Brookside School. We were able to send 17 large boxes over to the pantry. We were very happy that so many of our neighbors will benefit from what we collected. The week of March 25 was filled with LOVE and SHARING at Lakeside! We Roared with pride all week long!

–written by Shelby W.

During the month of February, the Student Council Crew of Lakeside School held a drive entitled, Harvest of Love. This is something that has been done for several years. The drive is held around Valentine’s Day and the mission is to spread love and kindness out into the Merrick Community. For one day only the Lakeside Family brings in FRESH fruits and vegetables which get donated to The Freeport Inn. Once the donations are delivered, they are turned into nutritious meals. The Inn prepares hot lunches for those who are less fortunate than us. The drive is held in February at a time when the Inn is low on donations after the holiday season. Our Lakeside Family was happy to help!

– story by Shelby, Lakeside Student Council Secretary (pictured). Soo Becchina is the Lakeside Student Council adviser.

 

Congratulations to the six student musicians who were chosen to represent the Merrick School District at the Long Island String Festival Association (LISFA) concert held at Uniondale High School in March. Thank you for continuing to make us proud!

Elena Hyzak (Birch, violin)
Ian Klimov (Chatterton, violin)
Ryan Levinter (Chatterton, viola)
Jason Lin (Birch, viola)
Rachel Watson (Lakeside, viola)
Jocelyn Yeung (Lakeside, cello)

For the fifth consecutive year, the Merrick School District has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education.  

The Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. To qualify for the designation, the district answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, and support for music programs. 

“We are truly grateful to be named one of the 2019 Best Communities for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation,” said Merrick School District’s music coordinator Dr. Richard Nasto “We are tremendously proud of all our students and their accomplishments. It is a testament to our Merrick Schools community – our music department, school and district leaders, students, teachers, staff and parents for their consistent support of arts education. They have all played a part in making this recognition possible."

The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its approximately 10,400 members around the world. The foundation advances active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving, and public service programs.

Chatterton Sixth-Grade Art Club

Students from Chatterton School’s sixth-grade art club supported this year’s Star Wars art show theme by collaborating to create the awesome giant sculptures you see here! They used a variety of media, such as plastic containers, newspapers, boxes, foam core, masking tape, plaster, cardboard and tempera paint. Justine Dujardin is the school art teacher and art club adviser.

May the Force be with you!

 

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Levy Lakeside Art Club 

The Levy Lakeside fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade art clubs continue to create wonderful works of art during their recess time. 

Fourth-graders created totem poles using recycled cardboard boxes, papier-mâché, paint and a variety of other materials.

Fifth-graders use recycled Styrofoam, plaster of Paris, paint and additional materials to create large sculptures that decorate school and district conference rooms, like this brightly colored llama. 

Sixth-graders collaborated on a large painted mural, this year selecting Winnie the Pooh as the theme.

 

 

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Ian the Violinist