Students in Mrs. Stimmel’s Pre-K enrichment class at Setauket Elementary School learned about voting ahead of Election Day. The class held its own election where students voted for their favorite snack – Goldfish, pretzels or animal crackers. Students filled out ballots in the voting booth, put their ballot in the voting box, then tallied up the results. They were excited to enjoy the winning snack together.

Date Added: 11/8/2023

Fourth graders in Ms. Toner's class at Nassakeag Elementary School collaborated with Mr. Gustafson's fourth grade class at Setauket Elementary School for a "Ship a Chip" challenge. In science lab, students worked in small teams to design a package that will protect a potato chip as it is shipped through the mail to the other school. Students had access to the same materials including tissues, foam, foil and cardboard. They worked under a time constraint as they packaged up their Pringles and left them in the hands of the postal service.

Once the packages arrived at each building, Ms. Toner and Mr. Gustafson's classes livestreamed the unwrapping. Students patiently waited as their teachers opened each package to see if any of the chips were broken. They drew conclusions such as what worked as the best protective materials and which designs proved to be the safest for the chip inside.

Through this hands-on STEM activity, students stepped into the role of a packaging engineer and found real-world solutions to the challenge at hand. Throughout the process, they planned, created, tested and evaluated. Additionally, students were excited to interact with their peers at a different building in the district.

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Date Added: 11/3/2023

Setauket Elementary School was excited to welcome students into its brand-new makerspace this fall. Located in the library, the makerspace is a dedicated room for students to collaborate and explore high-tech tools. It’s the first makerspace across the district’s elementary schools.

“Makerspace activities support 21st century digital technology skills to help students thrive in a technologically driven world,” said Setauket librarian Joannie Lauria. “It's a place to design, create and make with emerging technologies, such as the 3D printer and robotics. This hands-on experience is empowering for our youngest students!”

The space was previously a computer room, however with a new computer science curriculum adopted in the library department last year, Setauket decided it was the perfect opportunity to create a dedicated makerspace. Ms. Lauria worked with art teacher Michele Muzzonigro and sixth graders to bring the room to life with a mural.

Just this fall, students got to step inside the makerspace for the first time. Recently, fourth and fifth graders participated in a Halloween-themed activity with Ozobots. They worked in small teams to code a path for the robot to navigate as if it was “trick-or-treating.” In a timed challenge, students had to collect points, or “candy” at certain spots on the pathway.

Setauket Elementary Schools looks forward to providing students with additional hands-on activities to foster innovation and collaboration within the makerspace.

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Date Added: 11/2/2023

Pre-K students at Setauket Elementary School enjoyed hands-on activities with their friends and families at the Fall Festival on Oct. 20. Due to the weather, the festival was held inside the mini gymnasium, but that didn’t stop the children from having fun. They visited a small pumpkin patch, went apple picking, created fall bracelets, decorated cookies, colored fall scenes and stuffed a scarecrow!

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Date Added: 10/23/2023

During the week of Oct. 16, the Three Village Central School District celebrated Unity Week. Students participated in activities to promote kindness, acceptance and inclusion. Unity Day fell in the middle of the week, on Oct. 18. Students across the district wore orange as a way to send a visible message to end bullying.

Many of the district’s elementary schools held spirit weeks to get students excited about the Unity Week messaging. Spirit days brought the school communities together and had students dress to different themes including “put a lid on bullying,” where students and staff wore crazy hats. Additionally, students participated in art projects to promote positivity. For example, at Setauket Elementary School, Ms. Muzzonigro had students design balloons with messages of kindness written on them, which were then put together to form a mural.

Unity Day takes place each October, but the Three Village Central School District encourages students to follow its message every day of the year.

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Date Added: 10/19/2023