Stewart Manor School hosted its first-ever Day of Play on June 12. On Budget Vote Day in May, the students took part in exercising their right to vote by choosing either one full week of no homework or a full Day of Play. Once the votes were recorded, Day of Play was selected as the winner.

During Day of Play, students in pre-K through sixth grade participated in multiple fun activities throughout the school day. All grade levels searched for clues and puzzle pieces as part of a scavenger hunt, played with their classmates in the gym, and brought in games and toys from home to play with in class.

During the Play Art sessions, students in pre-K and kindergarten drew ice cream cones, students in grades 1-2 drew puppies, students in grades 3-4 drew waterfall landscapes, and students in grades 5-6 drew beach landscapes. For Play with Words, students played MadLibs games tailored to their grade-level. Students in grades 2-6 also played Wordle for Kids. All grade-levels were tasked with seeing how many words they could make by using the letters in “Stewart Manor Stallions.”

Students in pre-K through second grade had karaoke dance parties in their classrooms, and students in grades 3-6 played Name that Tune with music teacher Mr. Duerr.

The day’s activities were organized by Assistant Principal Tara Savage.

Date Added: 6/25/2024

Stewart Manor School fourth graders in Juliana Yirka’sclass learned about circuits and created their own during a science experiment.

During the science unit, students learned that circuits consist of a power source, switch, wires and lightbulbs. They also learned about series circuits and parallel circuits.

Split into heterogeneous pairs, the students received a baggie with a power source (battery), a switch, wires and three lightbulbs. They were tasked with creating a series circuit using the provided materials in their baggies. Once the series circuits were created, students were asked to remove a lightbulb. Theywere able to see what happens to the other lightbulbs if one was removed.

Following the first activity, students answered the following question with their partner: “Would the electrical energy still be able to flow through the series circuit if a light bulb was removed?” The students were asked to explain their thinking using what they saw from their circuits.

The fourth graders then created a parallel circuit with the same materials. After, they removed a lightbulb from their circuit. Students were able to identify that parallel circuits have multiple pathways for electric energy to travel through because the other lightbulbs were still lit, even though one was removed.

According to Yirka, the lesson was designed to prepare students for fifth grade, as next school year they will complete a science lab called “Light It Up.”

Date Added: 6/7/2024