Freeport High School’s ninth annual Science and Engineering Fair brought together the extensive scientific research that students have been working on this past year in a showcase that felt as though it would be more at home in a research laboratory than in the school gym.
    
The 48 individual projects spanning 15 categories were clearly the result of intense work by the Freeport students. All projects were graded on a point system by a team of judges who evaluated the presentations displayed, the methods used, the validity of conclusions and the students’ fluency in answering relevant questions.

Alanna Gordon won first prize with her research project “Can the polymerase chain reaction be used to determine if the ‘cyclin a’ gene is present in human epithelial cells?” Over $5,000 was raised through sponsorship and will be apportioned among the list of winners as cash prizes.
    
Table after table of trifold posters neatly presenting ambitious theorems, data-driven charts and analytic graphs revealed the depth of the student work. The panel of 73 judges assigned to evaluate these projects came from within the ranks of the school district, local accredited colleges and universities, science-related industries and the Village of Freeport.    
    
The following students (in alphabetical order) also won first and second places in their respective categories: Brian Abreu-Tejada, Harold Barnes, Jazmin Blackman, Nicholas Brown, Maria Cruz Orellana, Karolynn Ellis, Alex Gold, Ashley Gomes, Mohdshobair Hussaini, Ashalee Joseph, Sarah King, Jacques Lavaud, Ashley Martin, Milton Martinez, Steven McLeod, Damian Menard, Elizabeth Mulé, Celine Orosco, Jessica Ramos, Yamilex Rodriguez, Lynda Tinglin, Jonathan Valerio, Jasmine Walker, Kourtnee Wallace and Manuela Zuluaga.  
    
The fair challenges students to advance their scientific scope, methodically research and record data, and resolve questions quickly, accurately and efficiently.

The Freeport High School Spring Festival of the Arts instrumental concert featured an ambitious program of 15 songs beautifully performed by a variety of student groups. The program was a clear demonstration of the level of talent and commitment nurtured by the school system.
    
The concert orchestra, directed by Jill Boardman, set the tone for the night as they opened with Richard Meyer’s “Vanishing Pointe,” a song dedicated to the senior class as they embark on their lives beyond high school and discover their own next symbolic vanishing point. This was followed by the familiar strains of Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 and Larry Moore’s “Best of Queen,” an homage to the British rock band.
    
The Sinfonietta orchestral group, situated in front of the stage, performed at intervals as the stage was being reset behind closed curtains for the larger groups. Among their selections were Johann Sebastian Bach’s Fugue in G minor and his Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. Lauren Workman was among the featured soloists in the show. She performed Mitchell Peter’s “Yellow After the Rain” on the marimba.
    
The wind ensemble, directed by Michael LaSorsa and student teacher Joel Lewis, performed three songs and then paired with the Freeport Symphony Orchestra, also directed by Jill Boardman, for a rousing rendition of Gioachino Rossini’s “William Tell Overture” as the program finale.

As soon as Archer Street School Principal Paula Lein distributed the May Book of the Month, “Giraffes Can’t Dance,” giraffes began popping up everywhere in the school. Each giraffe on display measures a little over 8 feet tall, and all were created and decorated by Project Challenge teacher Deborah LaCorte. The giraffes' unique designs are reflective of individual classroom lessons.
    
Second-grade students shared their creativity and enthusiasm for the Book of the Month by creating their own themed giraffes, which they displayed outside of their classroom to celebrate the culmination of their most recent enrichment push-in lesson on giraffes. Lessons included focus on choral reading, rhyme, math, patterns and facts.
    
During weekly push-in lessons, second-grade students are introduced to challenging vocabulary in order to help them develop language skills through reading, writing and speaking. Weekly lessons are created as extensions of curricula, modules or topics of student interest.

The Family and Consumer Sciences Department from J.W. Dodd Middle School participated in an exciting economic education program called Junior Achievement Finance Park. Junior Achievement Finance Park is a month-long economics education program that introduces personal financial planning and career exploration. Mrs. Doshi taught the program to the eighth grade students. After the completion of this program, the students visited JA Finance Park with Mrs. Doshi and Mr. Wandzilak on May 21st to put into practice what they had learned about economic options and the principles of budgeting. The students also had an excellent opportunity to actually develop and commit to a personal budget.

Students at the Caroline G. Atkinson School spent time aboard the visiting BioBus, a state-of-the-art traveling learning facility, to expand on their science curriculum and explore the world around them.
    
"The children are learning things they otherwise would not,” said Principal Connie Velez. “It's an extension of the curriculum they are taught in the building.”
    
The BioBus, an old San Francisco street bus converted into a science lab, is equipped with two separate demonstration spaces featuring high-power microscopes connected to projection systems. Students in the rear laboratory studied cells collected from the inside of their cheeks to learn about the building blocks of life, while students in the other section viewed a live daphnia, a tiny shrimplike organism, as it demonstrated life processes in a single drop of water.
    
"I have to say that I am tremendously impressed with Freeport students, staff and administrators and how well the school system works together supporting the students," said staff scientist Sarah Weisberg, who runs the grant-funded BioBus with her brother Matthew. “All the students that come aboard are well-informed and curious. They really seem to gravitate toward the experience."
    
Before boarding the BioBus, students were given a quick lesson on how the vehicle was transformed from a city bus into an eco-friendly laboratory that uses stored electricity from solar panels, a wind turbine and a biodiesel engine to power high-tech microscopes, flat panel displays and other lab equipment. The BioBus spent a total of 24 days in Freeport welcoming students from across the district.

Congratulation to Bayview third-grade student Melvin Saravia, who is this year’s poster winner in the Child Abuse Prevention Services (CAPS) Bully Prevention Poster Contest. Each year third-and fourth-grade students across Long Island have the opportunity to compete in this competition. On average, CAPS receives thousands of entry submissions from both public and private elementary schools that have hosted the Steer Clear of Bullies program in their schools. Lead Social Worker Cindy Misrock coordinated the program at Bayview Avenue School of Arts and Sciences.

The annual competition provides students with the opportunity to showcase their creative talents while reinforcing the anti-bully message and strategies they acquired during the classroom workshop. Melvin’s winning artwork, along with the work of other talented artists and poets, will be published in CAPS Bully Prevention School Calendar, which is distributed to all elementary schools and libraries on Long Island. 

The fifth- and sixth-grade students at the Caroline G. Atkinson Intermediate School gave an inspired performance for family and friends in the annual Spring Festival of the Arts, demonstrating the high level of talent and commitment to the performing arts found within Freeport.
    
The first part of the multifaceted show featured the fifth-grade chorus, concert band, mariachi and concert orchestra, who altogether performed 11 songs. The sixth-grade portion of the event featured the select chorus, Atkinson chorus and concert orchestra, whose crisp performances demonstrated their readiness for the middle school arts programs and beyond.  
    
Many of the students belong to more than one musical ensemble, revealing the students’ musical dexterity and enthusiasm for the performing arts.

Monday, May 13, 2013 was a special day at New Visions School. On this beautiful spring morning, district administrators, New Visions students, faculty and staff honored their founding principal, Mrs. Katherine Hynes, with a tree planted in her memory. It was Mrs. Hynes’ vision of a school for the exploration and discovery of meaning through art and artifacts that has molded New Visions School of Discovery and Exploration into the fabulous place of learning it is today. Joining students for the memorial were members of Mrs. Hynes’ family, her long-time friend and secretary Mrs. Walsh, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kishore Kuncham, Executive Director for Business Mr. James Robinson and district administrators.  

Third-grade students at Bayview Avenue School honored the volunteers who comprise the Freeport Fire Department at the eighth annual International Firefighters Luncheon held at the school. The ceremonial luncheon included student presentations such as fire safety songs, original poetry and dancing. “We thank you and salute you for everything that you do for the Freeport community,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kishore Kuncham in his address to the volunteers. “We salute your bravery, your heroism and your commitment, especially after Superstorm Sandy.”
    
A record-breaking 17 Junior Fire Marshal Awards were presented to Bayview students who scored 100 percent on a quiz that was based on fire safety materials reviewed in class. Freeport Fire Department Executive Director Raymond Maguire and ex-Captain Edward L. Friedman were joined by Dr. Kuncham, Board of Education President Debra Mulé and Bayview Principal Odette Wills to present the certificates. The program was coordinated by school social worker Cindy Misrock. A total of 320 Freeport residents volunteer for the local fire battalion.

Environmental Awareness Day was celebrated at Bayview Avenue School, involving students in eco-friendly activities that included gardening, environmental research and the creation of art through recycling. All students and staff were encouraged to wear green to reinforce their commitment to environmental awareness and the “Bayview Goes Green!” theme of the day.
    
Yvette Ramos-Goldstein’s and Michelle Stanziale’s first-grade dual language classes split into two groups, with one learning how to make paper from recycled materials in the classroom while the other planted flowers in the Cheryl Israel Learning Garden outside the building. Mr. Huisman’s third-grade class presented their research papers devoted to environmental concerns such as air and water pollution and the environmental risks of generating electrical power using current methods. Geraldine LaPenne’s second-grade Project Challenge students displayed their prehistoric creatures made from discarded plastic bottles and paper rolls in the school lobby, an activity that culminated their study of dinosaurs.
    
Environmental Awareness Day is just one of the planned monthly spirit days conceived by the school site-based team to promote school spirit and to generate memorable and authentic learning experiences for students.

Freeport Public Schools fourth annual Night of Jazz brought together students and staff from John W. Dodd Middle School and Freeport High School for a musical showcase of improvisation, syncopation and rhythm in front of a large audience at the high school.

Staff members warmed up the crowd with a quick set before the John W. Dodd School Jazz Band, directed by music teacher Adam Rubin, presented Miles Davis’s “So What,” Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are,” and Erroll Garner and Johnny Burke’s “Misty,“ which featured a vocal solo from student Chavonne Toussaint. After they finished, the high school jazz band, under the direction of Michael LaSorsa, quickly moved in to play Count Basie’s “Jumpin’ at the Woodside,” Benny Golson’s “Killer Joe,” Russ Freeman’s “Morocco” and an energetic rendition of Louis Prima’s “Sing, Sing, Sing.”

The audience, seated at tables arranged café style, listened intently and applauded each number played as well as the many featured instrument solos.

Freeport Schools held its fourth annual peace march and wellness fair on Saturday, May 4, starting with a large community gathering on the high school field as a show of solidarity and a commitment to world peace. The several hundred attendees were encouraged to wear yellow, the color representing hope – in particular, hope for peace.

“The purpose of the peace march is to bring awareness about peace. We need inner peace, peace in our community, peace in our neighborhood, peace in our family, peace in this country and peace in this world,” stated Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kishore Kuncham. “We hope the positive vibrations that we are collectively creating this morning will reach other parts of this world.”
    
The event planning was coordinated through Freeport Cares, a collaboration of Freeport Schools, the Village of Freeport and community-based organizations. Those attending the celebration included Freeport School District Board of Education President Debra Mulé, Vice President Vilma Lancaster, Trustees Michael C. Pomerico, Anthony J. Miller, Ronald J. Ellerbe who is also a Freeport Village Board Trustee, Mayor Robert T. Kennedy, Deputy Mayor Carmen J. Piñeyro, Village Board Trustee William H. White Jr., Legislator David Dennenberg, Assemblyman Brian Curran and members of Freeport Cares. The mission of Freeport Cares is to coordinate programs and activities that support the needs of young people and families. The Nassau Zone of the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance partnered with Freeport Schools to program 20 different activities focused on health and wellness for the event.
     
The peace march began at the high school entrance before heading east on Pine Street to Bayview Avenue. The procession then headed south to Merrick Road, west to Brookside Avenue and back to the high school. Upon returning to the school, all were invited to attend the wellness fair, where healthy snacks were provided and numerous activity centers dedicated to raising awareness about living a healthy lifestyle, improving mental well-being and achieving inner peace were available.

John W. Dodd Middle School held its 14th annual induction ceremony for the Ladies of Dodd, an organization that serves to build character among the young women of the school by reinforcing self-respect, self-esteem and empowerment.
    
“These girls have journeyed together as individuals and emerged as sisters,” said group adviser Vashti Burke of the new inductees. Burke co-founded the group in 2005 with current high school Assistant Principal Gisselle Campbell-Hamm. “The way you conduct yourself is like a light,” added Campbell-Hamm in her address. “Light your light and illuminate your world.”
    
The primary goal of Ladies of Dodd is to build character and self-worth through service to the school and the surrounding community. The group can be found lending a hand at various functions, including school concerts, board meetings, academic ceremonies, toy drives and other fundraising events.
    
To be considered for membership, each candidate had to complete a six-page application that included a teacher’s letter of recommendation, proof of completion of three community service activities and an essay answering the question, “Who is your female role model?” Twenty tenacious young ladies completed these tasks by the Dec. 17, 2012 deadline. They are now known as the Xi Class, after the 14th letter of the Greek alphabet. They comprise the largest group to ever be inducted.
    
The night was punctuated by poetic speeches, music and dancing and highlighted by the candle-lighting ceremony, which signified the bonding of the group. The Men of Dodd were on hand to present each new inductee with a bouquet of Gerber daisies, the symbol of the ladies’ group. The ceremony ended with all of the candidates taking an oath in which they promised to always be selective of their language, strive for academic success and adhere to the motto “Always a lady, always strong, smart and bold.”
    
Congratulations to the 20 newest Ladies of Dodd:
Leah Alexander
Tykeima Bey
Kira Brizill
Maya Brown
Cierra Charles
Shanice Dwyer
Dillon Finch
Brianna Foster
Shania Hackett
Erica Matos
Anaiya Matthews-Correia
Alyssa Powell
Kayla Sewer
Zoe Stetson
Tamia Stewart
Tamara Sy
Tamika Sy
Saadiya Toliver
Janae Walker
Victoria Wright

The Freeport High School Art Department welcomed a bevy of local artists to the school for an exhibition of their work and the opportunity to share their experiences with students at the third annual Art Expo. "Art is meant to be alive, be a living force, and represent people's hearts and souls," said Art Expo coordinator Cathy Rode, adding, “We appreciate all the artists who volunteered their time to make a difference for the students.” Rode emceed the event, which filled a small gymnasium. The expo also included a display of student work, scheduled hands-on demonstrations and artwork raffles.
    
The exhibit area was filled with the energetic patter of painters, sculptors, designers, potters, jewelers, photographers and craftspeople engaging students in conversation. Many spoke of their love of creating art and the rewards that come with it. Art teachers Tom Alma, Nick Cuccio, Jocelyn Rodriguez-McShan and Shanequa Thompson were on hand to facilitate the artist-to-student exchange of ideas.
    
Artists brought along their tools and samples of finished work for students to examine. A handful of the visiting artists were also noted in the exhibit brochure as being Freeport High School graduates.

Students from the Columbus Avenue Early Childhood Learning Center had the chance to showcase their recent art and literacy work to their parents, siblings and other family members at a special exhibition night held at the school. With camera-equipped parents in tow, the students energetically led private tours of the bulletin boards, hallway walls and classrooms that were papered with multiple samples of work from each student.
    
Many parents peppered their children with questions about the work and challenged them to describe or read from their own creations. The students happily obliged by presenting their growing reading, writing and art skills and pointing out the work of classmates. Classroom teachers were on hand to offer introductory remarks and briefly discuss the advancements students have made since the beginning of the school year.

Elyssa Ascher’s and Josephine Velez’s dual language students at Archer Street School partnered with art teacher Joyce Elias to create a 24-foot-wide hallway mural that represents the urban, suburban and rural communities they have studied as part of the second-grade social studies curriculum.      
    
Over the past few months, Ascher’s and Velez’s students studied cities, farms and suburbs from all around the world using the Internet, the classroom Smart Board and books from the school library. 

As part of the exercise, students wrote in both English and Spanish about the characteristics of these communities and how they are alike and different. These compositions have been hung above the mural. They also created paper self-portraits, which were placed within the community setting of their choice on the three-panel display.

The mural is mounted on the bulletin boards a few steps down the hall from the main office.

Third-grade music students at the Archer Street School participated in an island-wide Practice-a-Thon. Music students from all over Long Island participated in this month long event, which brought together students’ love of music and their desire to help those less fortunate. This was an educationally based fund raising program in which the students obtained sponsors for the amount of minutes they practiced during the month of March. This was a not only a great way to improve musical skills, but also provided a way to assist those suffering from the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy. The students raised a total of $450.34, which was donated to Long Island Cares, Inc. and The Harry Chapin Food Bank for Superstorm Sandy Relief.

Kindergarten students at Archer Street School who have been learning about the indigenous animal species of Australia had the chance to show what they know when they participated in a videoconference with a zoo staff member in Garden City, Kan.
    
The Smart Board in the school’s computer lab served as the portal to Whitney Buchman, the distance learning and technology manager of the Lee Richardson Zoo. Buchman’s half-hour lesson focused on the animals that inhabit the rain forest, savannah and desert of Australia.
    
The students listened intently and responded to Buchman’s quizzing based on his slideshow of emus, kangaroos, dingoes and platypuses. Part of the lesson included watching live zoo animals handled on camera, including a bearded dragon, a green tree frog and a cockatiel.
    
At the end of the lesson, the students had the opportunity to ask additional questions before the videoconference was concluded. Later that afternoon, the interactive learning continued as Archer Street first-grade students interacted with personnel at the Bronx Zoo.    
    
The Lee Richardson Zoo has more than 100 species of animals that are non-native to southwest Kansas.

Congratulations go to the Caroline G. Atkinson School fifth grade Odyssey of the Mind team for their outstanding performance. Members of the team include fifth graders Hannah Robinson, Monika Cepeda, Angel Flores, Elijah Hollingsworth, Kerry Stuparich, Nicolina Secchi, and Kelcey Woodward. Carrie Frederick and Thesla Bongiorno coached the team. This team worked for many months on their Odyssey of the Mind solution, and is to be commended for their hard work.

Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and world level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from 25 countries participate in the program

Atkinson school sponsored two Odyssey of the Mind teams this year, fifth and sixth grade. Both competed at the Regionals Championship at Rosemary Kennedy Center on March 2, with the fifth grade team winning first place. This team then went on to compete at the State Finals on March 23 at Binghamton University. They team placed ninth out of twenty.  Congratulations to both teams on their outstanding performance.

Freeport High School junior Brooke Baker has a love for books and a vision for sharing that passion with her community.
    
The literacy event “In Between the Lines,” coordinated by Brooke in partnership with the district, brought 500 donated books to the high school for a Saturday morning reading event. Brooke appealed to public libraries in Freeport, Baldwin, Rockville Centre and Hempstead, as well as retailers Barnes & Noble and Borders, for book donations.
    
“It was a joint effort to provide our students with the opportunity to read a book and take a book,” said Freeport High School Principal Linda Carter. “Getting together to bring literacy alive is a wonderful way to put books into the hands of children.”
    
High school students, teachers and a contingent from the JROTC were on hand to help sort out the books and read to the young students. It was announced that the books that had not been distributed would be brought to shelters and other places where they could be put to good use.  
    
Brooke wants to follow her love of literacy through college and pursue a career in journalism.

The BioBus, a multi-dimensional platform for inquiry-based science education, visited the Archer Street School in April. Students in grades K-4 had the opportunity to explore the inner workings of Daphnia, a shrimp-like animal, found in local ponds.  

The students used microscopes to view the heart, nerves and digestive system of this live animal. Students also had the opportunity to view their own clothing and their hands under the microscope. Every student and teacher found the experience to be unique and exciting for all.

To bring their classroom lessons to life, fourth graders at Leo F. Giblyn School went back in time to experience what life was like during the colonial period. The students created textiles (cloth) using a replica colonial era loom, turned flax into linen, and prepared wool for use as textiles. They also experienced what it was like to craft wooden tops at a carpentry station by sanding and sawing. The students went “into the kitchen” where they turned wheat berry into flour, grated nutmeg into cinnamon, made cream into butter scratch, and even baked Dutch apple pancakes.
    
“The children were amazed at how items were produced and what life was like over 200 years ago!” noted Mrs. Wandzilak, fourth grade teacher.  “The in-school field trip really allowed them to better understand and comprehend that times weren’t like they are today. I think they have a new appreciation for what they have today.”
    
Leading up to the field trip, students read and analyzed various forms of non-fiction texts to gain a better understanding of colonial life and jobs. They participated in many projects including writing “Help Wanted” advertisements and persuasive letters to perspective employers. Some classes even produced commercials. In addition to focusing on social studies and English language arts, students made colonial times connections in math and science with lessons dealing with measurement, physical property changes and simple machines.

Twenty-two Bayview Avenue School fourth-graders presented an energized gymnastics showcase that displayed their high level of practiced skill, much to the enjoyment of their schoolmates and visiting guests.
    
After each segment was introduced in both English and Spanish, the gymnasts enthusiastically performed their choreographed routines to music on the gym floor mats. The program included warm-up stretches, bounding cartwheels, forward rolls, tripod headstand rolls, front handsprings and vaulting. The gymnasts also had their chance to demonstrate some of their favorite freestyle moves for the cheering crowd.
    
Gym teacher Charles Gilreath has been coaching the students through their gymnastics drills since September. Gilreath coordinated the event with art teacher Laurie Kolodny.  

Students representing Freeport High School demonstrated their winning skills and competitive drive at the recent New York State Distributive Education Clubs of America Career Conference, held in Rochester, N.Y. Freeport High School student Mattius Sic was a top 10 winner in the Job Interview category, while Jonathan Valero earned top 10 winner status in two role-playing categories: Sports and Entertainment Marketing. Oliver Collado was also recognized as a top 10 winner in role-play in the Principles of Hospitality and Tourism category.

Freeport High School made this year’s celebration of Youth Art Month especially meaningful with the ribbon-cutting of the new “Gallery Without Walls” in the school atrium.

“There is no question that the arts are essential to every child’s education,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kishore Kuncham. “We celebrate the arts in Freeport.”

The exhibit is stationed just outside the school auditorium in the main lobby. It features newly installed key lights, 12 frames that will be changed regularly, folding sectionals to hold hanging art, and pedestals that hold 3-D work in lighted glass cases.

“Many years ago, Dr. Kuncham said he’d like to see a more professional gallery,” said Catherine Rode-Flores, the district’s visual arts facilitator, during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “He wanted the art to be seen in a more professional light.” Rode-Flores coordinated the ribbon cutting ceremony and, with input from the art faculty, oversaw the design and installation of the exhibit space.

The work being displayed represents the best of the 120 participating art students. Art teachers Thomas Alma, Nicholas Cuccio, Catherine Rode-Flores, Jocelyn Rodriguez-McShan and Shaniqua Thompson oversee the selection process.

Visitors to the school who have passed through security can view the gallery. Youth Art Month has been celebrated across the country since 1961 and in Freeport schools since 2005.

The Freeport School District Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kishore Kuncham are proud to announce another outstanding achievement for the district’s Advanced Science Research Program under the leadership of Vincent Pereira, the district’s coordinator of science.

A research paper, developed entirely at Freeport High School, titled “Identification and Calculation of the Three-Dimensional Orbit of an Asteroid” and written by Vincent Pereira and Class of 2012 science research students Justin Millan and Emerick Martin, will appear in the May 2013 issue of The Physics Teacher. Established in 1963, this peer-reviewed journal, published by the American Association of Physics Teachers, publishes, among other topics, papers on the history and philosophy of physics, physics research and applied physics.

Justin Millan, a freshman at Nassau Community College, and Emerick Martin, a freshman at Seton Hall University, were semifinalists at the 2012 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology based on the work reported in this published paper.

Fourth grade Project Challenge students at Giblyn hosted their Third Annual Science Fair during Exhibit Night. Projects featured included volcanoes, earthworms, hamsters, trebuchet’s and more.
    
Fourth graders were eager to learn about the scientific procedure and choose a topic of their choice from which to develop their experiment. All the projects were lead by a lead scientist, the student, who had very helpful assistants – their parents, teachers, siblings or friends. “It’s a wonderful culminating project that integrates science, ELA and math,” stated Mrs. Muldowney, principal. “Students are able to be challenged, while showing their creativity and knowledge.”

For many years, the Bayview Family Book Club has served as a channel to promote family involvement in children’s literacy. As a kick-off to the annual PARP program and schoolwide reading program, a pantomimed version of “Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook” was presented to Bayview families to encourage just that. Various supremely talented Bayview faculty and staff members portrayed storybook characters such as Alice in Wonderland, Goldilocks, the Big Bad Wolf, pirates and fire-breathing dragons. The characters were brought to life in a way that had audience members fully entertained and entranced. The performance was followed by a special Q-and-A session to model for parents how reading comprehension skills are sharpened through proper questioning techniques.  
    
With narrations in both English and Spanish, there was double the laughter, double the antics, and double the opportunity to take in the powerful message delivered through Miss Smith’s storybook – that reading can take you on all sorts of incredible adventures! Children and adults both raved about the event. “It was great!” one second-grader exclaimed. “I can’t wait to read ‘Miss Smith Under the Ocean!’” The children’s heightened eagerness to read was instantly felt, and the production was a huge success.