In honor of the end of the year, Woodhull Elementary School students celebrated their collective achievements during a musical concert and special graduation ceremony for the school’s pre-K and sixth-grade students.

During the event, the concert band performed the national anthem before being joined by the third-graders, who played ukulele with them on Haydn’s Surprise Symphony. The pre-K through second-grade students sang folk songs with third-grade students on the ukulele and were then joined by grades 4-6 singing with Mr. Tamberino on ukulele for a beautiful performance of “What a Wonderful World.” A stunning duet of “Beauty and the Beast” was performed by third-graders Ariel Vizcarrondo and Kingston Johnson, followed by sixth-graders Patryk Warzecha and Giovanni Giua performing a duet version of “Promenade” from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, on alto saxophone and trumpet, respectively. Ariel then returned to perform an excerpt from Beethoven’s Fur Elise for piano, and Patryk performed a solo version of Ray Charles’ “Hallelujah, I Love Her So” on the saxophone. The band and ukulele ensemble returned to perform “The Best Day Ever” from “SpongeBob SquarePants” before being joined by the rest of the students and closing the concert with the song “We Know the Way” from the movie “Moana.”

After thunderous applause, the pre-K and sixth-grade graduates then participated in commencement exercises led by Superintendent of Schools Loretta Ferraro and Board of Education President Jay Lippert. The students were celebrated for their achievements to date. Twelfth-grade resident student graduates were then honored before the sixth-graders gave their traditional farewell address, in which they each reflected on their years at Woodhull and their personal meaning. The audience then viewed the traditional slideshow of all the graduates, created with care by sixth-grade teacher Ms. Donovan.

On Friday June 8, Woodhull Health Services Director Janet LaViolette presented her latest "Teddy Bear Clinic," transforming the Woodhull gymnasium into a magical play clinic where students could learn about real health and hygiene practices, procedures, and related material. A quintessentially Fire Island event, Nurse Janet brings together staff with parents and community members in bringing a fun and memorable experience to students.

This year's clinic featured a handwashing station, a doll hospital, a boo-boo clinic, an "operation" room, yoga with the principal, a medical tech lab, a get well card making factory, a health newsstand, a healthy heart workshop, a body system puzzle, a music therapy drum circle, and storybook reading from the tooth fairy. There was also a craft center and a dress-up area which included lab coats, hospital scrubs, and bouffant caps, but also colorful wigs, hats, and glasses. An assortment of colorful fresh fruit and vegetables were also available at the aptly named "Rainbow Café"

The Teddy Bear Clinic started with Nurse Janet's thoughtful desire to educate students about the medical equipment and procedures they were likely to encounter on a typical visit to a doctor's office, to help alleviate any fears or anxieties, and continues this mission through today.

Student art adorned the walls of the Woodhull Elementary School gymnasium for the annual Student Art Show, curated by Woodhull art teacher Bianca Diadone and featuring works from all students throughout the school year.

Students lead parents and teachers on a tour of the display as they proudly showed off their paintings, drawings, sculptures and mixed media works. Over 100 works were displayed in all, including set pieces made by the Art Club for the winter musical, 3D printed objects designed by intermediate students and a collaborative piece made by all students in the school, including a large mandala and an oversized poster celebrating the value of mindfulness.

Fire Island School District is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of its first school in 1918 this year, and parents recently participated in a special viewing of a retrospective exhibit for the occasion.

The exhibit, curated by Woodhull’s technology integration specialist Debbie Gerken, allows viewers to walk chronologically through the various periods of the district’s development and view artifacts giving a sense of school life during each period. The artifacts came not only from the district itself but also largely from longtime residents, who may have been students, parents, Board of Education members or all of the above, who generously contributed their photos and records to the project. 

The exhibit is scheduled to appear again during the graduation ceremony and spring concert at Woodhull on June 20 (open to the community) and also at the Ocean Beach Historical Society over the summer.

Information on library hours, contents, computer system features, the inter-library loan system and how to obtain a library card.

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This link provides an overview of the district’s non-resident student enrollment program, including tuition rates and applications. 

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This is a series of materials, websites and guides aimed at helping parents navigate the Common Core Standards.

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