Holiday Cheer, Master Class, Diabetes Awareness: November In Deer Park

from the Deer Park school district

DEER PARK, NY — Students and faculty in the Deer Park schools were busy with projects in November.

As a team, the second-grade student council at Deer Park’s John Quincy Adams Primary School recently decided to visit the Sunrise of Dix Hills assisted living center to give back to the community and spread holiday cheer.

Each grade level was asked to create cards for the council members to bring to make the residents smile and brighten their day. Students assisted the residents in creating a Thanksgiving craft and enjoyed having conversations about their school day.

“Our student council members understand the importance of giving back to their community and how it makes everyone feel good to do something for others,” Associate Principal Lynn Coyle said. “This visit brought joy to the residents and will leave a lasting
impact on our students by teaching them the value of empathy, kindness and the importance of reaching out to others in our community.”

The Deer Park High School Chamber Orchestra recently had the rare opportunity to work with Bradley Bosenbeck and Bernard Tamosaitis.

The former assistant conductor of “Phantom of the Opera,” Bosenbeck is an accomplished Broadway musician, arranger and composer. Tamosaitis, an accomplished cellist and Juilliard graduate, serves as principal cellist of the Bellas Artes orchestra of Mexico City.

Students attended master classes on music from “Phantom of the Opera” which will be performed at the school’s winter concerts in December. Directed by Bosenbeck and Tamosaitis, they also rehearsed as a group, learning about the opera and how to musically connect with the audience.

Since November was Diabetes Awareness Month, May Moore Primary School’s school nurse Holly Giovi recently read the book "Go, Team Coco!" to second-graders.

The story follows Coco as she is diagnosed with diabetes and learns how to manage her condition.
May Moore students loved hearing about Coco’s adventures and how she checks her blood sugar, counts carbs and gives herself insulin. Giovi explained that diabetes is a condition where your body has trouble regulating blood sugar, and how some students may have diabetes and need accommodations like checking blood sugar or having snacks with them.

“We are so glad our students learned about this important health topic and Coco's story during Diabetes Awareness Month,” Giovi said. “Reading this book was a fun way for all to better understand diabetes and understand how students with diabetes can do everything their classmates can do, just with some planning.”