Students in the English as a New Language (ENL) program at Bowling Green Elementary School were introduced to their year-long buddies on November 14. Through the ENL Buddy Reading initiative, students work as partners and help each other to improve their English writing and literacy skills. 

Led by ENL teachers Jaclyn Goldstein, Michelle Brenner and Jennifer Roman, the introductory session brought students from various grades together in the school’s all-purpose room to connect with their buddies. They asked each other questions and to get to know one another and practiced writing and reading in English. Following the introductions, students wrote down something they enjoyed. The papers containing their responses were mixed together in a pile.  Each student chose one of the pieces of paper and attempted to guess which peer wrote it as a way to further facilitate conversation within the group.

In addition, the program encourages the buddies to connect outside of the scheduled time as the group only meets once a month. The ENL Buddy Reading program looks forward to future meetings and the progress of the ENL students as they move toward English literacy! 

For two days during Red Ribbon Week, students and staff at Bowling Green Elementary School in the East Meadow School District welcomed yoga and mindfulness expert and trainer, Beth Hagedorn.

Ms. Hagedorn informed and instructed the students and teachers on the techniques and benefits of yoga and mindfulness. This program has many relevant applications to a school setting while also providing tactics for students to develop a more relaxed and receptive frame of mind that is more conducive to effective learing.

The teachers were the first to experience the yoga lesson on October 24, and then the students followed by exploring the benefits of yoga. 

Bowling Green thanks its PTA for inviting Beth Hagedorn to the school and helping to frame a more relaxed awareness for both students and teachers. 

Students in Meagan Keller’s third-grade class at Bowling Green Elementary School demonstrated their take on a pilot program called “responsive classroom.” During a morning meeting on October 29, the students gathered as a community while merging social, emotional and intellectual learning and creating a climate of trust and respectful interactions.

As the morning began, students came together on the carpet and Ms. Keller introduced the meeting’s theme. The class then split into two circles – one within the other – and students rotated to shake hands with their peers and say good morning.  Ms Keller then led a roll call featuring a special song that engaged students, as each said their name followed by nicknames and words they can be described as. 

Next, Ms. Keller read out numbers for each student and a group task asked them to find peers that had the same digit in the tens place value. The students identified which numbers formed the groups. 

As the discussion concluded, Ms. Keller reviewed the day’s lessons while students answered questions about the different text features included in the morning message.