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Committed to Excellence

Welcome to Commack Road Elementary School

300 Commack Road
Islip, NY 11751

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School Hours: 9:15 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Telephone Directory

Main Office: (631) 650-8600
Fax: (631) 650-8608
Principal’s Office: (631) 650-8605
Nurse’s Office: (631) 650-8625
Nurse's Office Fax: (631) 650-8628
Attendance: (631) 650-8610

 

headshot photograph of Commack Road Elementary School Principal Jackie Beckmann

Jackie Beckmann, Principal

Principal's Message

Dear CRES Families:

It is with immense enthusiasm that I introduce myself as the new principal of Commack Road Elementary School. My name is Jackie Beckmann, and I am incredibly delighted to join the friendly and dynamic community of CRES and excited to embark on this journey together, fostering a vibrant learning environment where each child thrives.

As I step into this role, I bring a deep passion for creating a welcoming and nurturing environment where each child can succeed. My top priorities are based on a belief in strong partnerships between school and families. My door is always open, and I encourage communication from families, teachers, and staff alike. Communication will be key, and I'm committed to keeping you informed and engaged through regular updates via ParentSquare and easy access to me.

My top priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of every child who walks through our doors at CRES. My focus is on creating a personalized learning experience for each child. I am dedicated to developing a culture of respect, kindness, and inclusivity, where every student feels comfortable, supported, and empowered to learn. Collaboration with families is vital in this process, and I encourage you to communicate any concerns or questions regarding your child's academic and social journey.

I am excited to partner with you in this shared endeavor. Feel free to reach out at any time with questions, feedback, or simply to introduce yourself.

Sincerely,

Jackie Beckmann
Principal
Commack Road Elementary School
jbeckmann@islipufsd.org

 

Commack Road Third Graders Explore Authentic Chinese Traditions

Commack Road Elementary School recently celebrated Chinese New Year thumbnail256036
Brian Smith’s third-grade class at Commack Road Elementary School recently celebrated Chinese New Year with the help of Chin-Yen Cheng Grayer, the mother of one of Smith’s students, Josephine Grayer.

“Mrs. Grayer, who was born and raised in Taiwan, was our teacher today as she proudly immersed the class in one of the most important and enduring Chinese cultural traditions,” Smith said.

Three different learning stations punctuated the celebration, each designed to introduce the students to a different aspect of Chinese culture. The first station was dedicated to Taiwan’s history, culture and geography. Students at this station “visited” Taiwan with the help of various resources provided by Grayer. Smith, who visited Taiwan himself while in college, also provided the students with photographs and insights about the country. The last day of Chinese New Year, also known as the Lantern Festival, was the basis of the next station, in which students created their own Chinese-style paper lanterns.

In the final station, Grayer instructed the class on the ancient art of traditional Chinese calligraphy, an art form she had learned in school as a third-grade student in Taiwan. Wanting to teach the class this art authentically, she provided students with all of the tools necessary to learn: thin red papers prepared for their final writing, practice sheets, Chinese ink, and calligraphy brushes of various sizes and styles. Grayer patiently instructed and guided each student throughout the process as they wrote their own beautiful symbols – “peace,” “school,” “health,” “harmony,” “joy,” “love” – to represent how they felt or wished for themselves or family.

“The whole experience was so moving and wonderful, as we were all drawn into the magic of the moment,” Smith said. “According to the Chinese zodiac, 2024 is the Year of the Dragon. Dragon characteristics include enthusiasm, confidence and a willingness to take on challenges. Our class epitomizes these characteristics normally, but especially so on this day as they took on the mystery of this challenge with wonder, confidence and an abundance of enthusiasm. Students excitedly talked about their work throughout the day and into the next day. Our class thanks Mrs. Grayer for offering us her kindness and graciousness on this Chinese New Year and for gifting us with memories we will not soon forget.”

Date Added: 3/11/2024

Commack Road Welcomes Crabby Quartet of Class Pets

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Commack Road Welcomes Crabby Quartet of Class Pets thumbnail255926
Commack Road Welcomes Crabby Quartet of Class Pets thumbnail255927

As part of their recent focus on kindness and responsibility, second graders at Commack Road Elementary School welcomed a crabby quartet of new class pets in February, donated by special guest Bill Niehoff. The students voted to named their hermit crabs Giant, Michelle, Mr. Krabs and Valentina.

Date Added: 3/7/2024

Commack Road Second Graders Celebrate Being 100 Days Smarter

Commack Road Second Graders Celebrate Being 100 Days Smarter thumbnail255860

Second graders at Commack Road Elementary School celebrated the 100th day of school by dressing up as 100-year-olds, canes and all. Students wrote about what they would do with 100 dollars, solved 100 math problems and listened to read-alouds about the 100th day of school.

“It was such a fun day filled with laughter and learning, and we celebrated the students being 100 days smarter,” said teacher Jennifer Beck.

Date Added: 3/5/2024

Islip Students Show Appreciation for Vets with Valentines

Islip Students Show Appreciation for Vets with Valentines thumbnail255859

On Feb. 8, Suffolk County Legislator Sam Gonzalez, accompanied by two U.S. Army reservists from the Fort Totten base, visited Ted Dieumegard’s classroom at Commack Road Elementary School to talk to fourth graders, and the Islip Middle School library to speak with students from Erin Anderson’s English language arts classes, as well as CARE and Keep Islip Clean club members. The purpose of the visit was twofold. Legislator Gonzalez and the reservists explained how important it is to recognize veterans’ sacrifice and commitment to duty. In turn, the students showed their appreciation with a presentation of handmade Valentine’s cards - and from the middle school, hand-sewn plush hearts embellished with American flags – destined for delivery to overseas service members.

“We feel certain that the students came away with a better understanding of what sacrifice and duty truly entail after this visit,” middle school librarian Kathy Ryder said.

Date Added: 3/5/2024

KidOYO Offers Islip Students a K-12 Journey Through the World of Coding

KidOYO Offers Islip Students a K-12 Journey Through the World of Coding  thumbnail255647

For the last two years, Islip’s schools have been implementing kidOYO, an exciting, robust, Manorville-based platform for coding and computer science that focuses on building students’ real-world skills through projects and games.

“KidOYO is definitely in alignment with our superintendent Dr. Dennis O’Hara’s vision for giving our students the best opportunities to shape their future,” said Dr. Chad Walerstein, Islip’s director of technology, innovation and information systems. “It really provides kids with tremendous opportunities in the areas of coding, computer science, logic and critical thinking. This will undoubtedly have a profound effect on their life trajectories, because regardless of what profession they seek out after high school and college, coding is everywhere. It’s in business, finance, computer science and engineering, and it’s becoming more and more normal for graduates to need to have this kind of knowledge. Even beyond direct knowledge of coding, the tenets that kidOYO promotes really function to enhance systematic thought and problem-solving skills, as well as social skills like communication and collaboration.”

At the earliest levels at Wing Elementary School, students begin with the Color by Code program, an app within kidOYO that teaches them the principles of coding. From basic coding such as directional and multi-step algorithms, they move up to another coding language called Hatch, which is essentially a derivative of the Scratch coding language. A form of block coding, Hatch allows students to literally drag and drop blocks to produce an outcome. The Maze Code game within the platform, which most students go through at the earlier levels, gets progressively more difficult and forces the students to utilize repetition and conditional code such as “If this, then that.” Wing students work with kidOYO for a minimum of once a week for the entire year.

Slightly older students are guided through kidOYO by Islip’s STEAM teachers and technology teacher assistants, Beth Fazio and Robert Going at Commack Road Elementary School and Kenneth Bailey and Fred Stroh at Maud S. Sherwood Elementary School. In the middle school, kidOYO is taught by librarian Kathy Ryder as well as implemented in technology classes. At the high school, kidOYO is utilized in a different, course-specific way. High school classes using the platform include AP computer science, video game design, coding and computer programming with Java.

“The nice thing about the platform is that it takes kids from the most basic thing, like Color by Code, all the way through to all of the coding languages that are used in business today such as Python, which some of the high school students are using,” Dr. Walerstein said. “It’s kind of a one-stop shop, if you will.”

Another important aspect of the kidOYO program is providing a challenge for students with a competitive streak, who can participate in Hackathon coding competitions against other Long Island schools in four divisions: high school, seventh and eighth grades, sixth grade and upper elementary school. Each team can have no more than eight members, and at each level, students are required to meet different specific coding benchmarks.

“The Hackathons get progressively more difficult to the point where, when the students are in high school, they have to know a little bit of everything,” Dr. Walerstein said.

Students receive badges for achieving different levels of competency, which serve as micro-credentials as they advance through the program, and kidOYO teachers are able to accurately assess student progress in coding, assisted by the company itself. Teachers can also pursue professional development through kidOYO, obtaining badges of their own and becoming certified as kidOYO certified educators.  

“A teacher doesn’t necessarily have to be a master of coding to utilize it,” Dr. Walerstein said. “Mentors at kidOYO look at every single project. Once a student submits an assignment or project, mentors at kidOYO will offer suggestions, praise their work or even ask them questions. For example, there was a student who submitted something recently in the high school, and one of the mentors at kidOYO actually contacted the teacher and asked it the student used original code, because the mentor was stunned at the level of what the student accomplished.”

The program’s flexibility is one of its greatest strengths.

“So much of this can be self-driven,” Dr. Walerstein said. “Students have access to all of these different apps. If they want to go onto Hatch, all they have to do is open it up and they can go ahead and create and submit projects on their own.”

"I love trying to figure things out when I’m doing the challenges in Hatch,” sixth grader Caden Tarello said.

“Coding definitely reorients the students’ thinking processes,” Ryder said. “They learn how important precision is in their input. Our students love working through the challenges to earn badges and exploring the work of their fellow coders, and I can literally see that students relax and their shoulders come to rest when they know we are going to work in Hatch and kidOYO.”

Date Added: 3/1/2024
 

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