New Programs Bring More Science to Port Jeff Classrooms

When the Port Jefferson PTA polled teachers last year asking what they’d like to see more of in the classroom the response was clear: science. The result is a series of targeted programs presented to students by the in Riverhead that started in December and will run through the next few months.

“It’s a whole focus on science for us,” said PTA President Jill Russell.

Designed with the help of teachers, the Long Island Science Center, and with support from Superintendent of Schools Ken Bossert Bossert and interim principal Thomas Meehan, the programs offer customized lessons in science above and beyond the established curriculum.

As the first group in the program, first graders at Edna Louise Spear Elementary School studied different states of matter performing hands on experiments with flubber, ice cream and salt crystals. Russell said that the kids were shown how to make crystals and watched them grow in the classroom along with making flubber and ice cream, which they got to eat, making science not only fun but also yummy. Third graders then got to learn all about the importance of the Pine Barrens to Long Island.

In February, second graders will study meteorology and storm watching. In March, Kindergarteners will learn about moon phases and then in April, fourth graders will learn about leaves and seeds while fifth grade students experiment with balloon powered vehicles.

The program costs $6,000 with the PTA pitching in $3,000, a $1,500 grant coming from the Royal Education Foundation and the rest of the money from the school district.

According to Marilyn Goldman of the Long Island Science Center, the museum offers a full spectrum of science related programs from Mommy and Me to science fair training. The science programs, designed by the education staff for all grade levels, are open to all schools and groups on Long Island.

Russell said that the program is a part of the school’s “collaborative efforts” to focus on science.

Also coming up on the science front for the elementary school is the first annual Science Fair on Feb. 2 being held in the cafeteria from 7 to 9 p.m. There are approximately 70 projects expected to be presented, some made by individual students and others, collaborative projects among students. Since the science fair is following the rules for the Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) science fair the students will have an opportunity to go on to compete in that fair on May 5.

“There will be non-mandatory judging if they chose to submit,” explained Russell. “The winner from each grade from Kindergarten through fifth will be sent on to the BNL Science Fair.”

Representatives from BNL are expected to be on-hand during the fair as well as from Stony Brook University’s Science and Mathematics Education Department.

“We’re not tapping into people in our own backyards,” she said. “Why not talk to Brookhaven National Lab and Stony Brook University?”

With the level of scientific research and facilities surrounding the school, she also thinks these institutions should be interested in bringing science to the students as well.

“They need to look at us as we look at them,” she said. “These children are the future. You need to tap into the schools.”