Helen B. Duffield Elementary School

600 First Street
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-6304
Principal: Lisa Farrell
631-467-6010
lisafarrell@ccsdli.org

Joint letter from the Nassau and Suffolk County Superintendents Association regarding photo Sharing Site

Dear Duffield Families:

Are you among the majority of people who would love to receive reminders? If you are and would have loved to receive a text message that read: Don’t forget tomorrow is a half day. The buses will pull out of the circle at 11:35, then this is for you.

In an effort to improve communication between the school and parents, I have designed a one-way text communication through REMIND 101 where I am able to send out a reminder text to an entire group of people. This reminder would be specific to Duffield only. The text message may include emergency information. but it is truly meant to be used for general reminders. The district will continue to use the School Messenger phone messaging system for emergencies. If you would like to start receiving a text message, please follow the directions below.

Text the following message: @600firstst
To: 631-419-7440

Additional information:

REMIND 101 is a one-way text messaging system. All personal information remains completely confidential. I will never see your phone number and you will never see mine.
You will not be able to reply to any of the text messages. It is a one-way system only. Unless…
- You can opt-out of the system at any time by replying “unsubscribe” @600 firstst

I know how busy you are. To help strengthen the home-school connection this is an effort to increase communication in the most convenient way for you. Joining is optional! Visit www.remind101.com to learn more.

Sincerely,

Lisa M. Farrell

Principal

Nicklaus Children's Hospital Certificate of Appreciation

Current News

An Excellent Educator

The district congratulates Helen B. Duffield Elementary School kindergarten teacher Teresa Hewitt on being selected as a 2019 Educator of Excellence by the New York State English Council.

In order to be considered for this award, Hewitt, who has been teaching in Connetquot for the past 18 years, was nominated by Elementary Humanities Chairperson Eileen Abraham and her colleagues at Duffield Elementary School.

“Teresa Hewitt has implemented best practices that she knows to be true and challenges her students to become early readers and writers,” said Abraham. “Her work has shown a dedication to her own learning and to her profession, and she is well-deserving of this recognition.”

Hewitt will be presented with the 2019 Educator of Excellence Award at the NYSEC Conference in October.

Excellence in Mathematics

Students in James Longo’s fifth grade class at Duffield Elementary School achieved a highly impressive feat by placing first out of 728 competing classrooms across the U.S. in the national Sumdog mathematics contest.

“There were 15,485 individual students who participated in this year’s contest, and Duffield placed seven students among the top 50 for individual honors,” said Longo.

The program calls for students to participate in contest-centered games, competing against students of similar ability from around the world. The more games the students play, the more the games adapt to meet their learning needs. If students provide correct answers quickly, Sumdog automatically offers more difficult questions while limiting the time allotted for answers. To further the challenge, a student who answers questions incorrectly on a given topic receives more of those types of questions in the ensuing rounds.

Longo was very pleased with the dedication of his students and encourages them to keep up the good work in their future efforts.

Puppy Power

Students from Duffield Elementary School were recently treated to a special visit from representatives of Therapy Dogs of Long Island as they brought along fuzzy friends Pumpkin, Woof and Ken for the students to enjoy. During their time spent in the classroom, the dogs freely roamed the floorspace, as students were given the opportunity to both pet and hold the adorable canines. Additionally, the students showcased their advanced literary skills to the dogs, as they each read a small passage from a book while the dogs sat comfortably on their classmates’ lap.

Sampling the World’s Cultures

Students, teachers and parents from Duffield Elementary School recently had the opportunity to learn about the culture of a variety of nations from around the world during the school’s annual “Heritage Museum Day” event.

Sponsored by the English as a New Language department, colorfully dressed students and parents visited the classrooms to share facts about their heritage, and answered questions from their classmates. Throughout the school’s hallways, dancers, singers, musicians and make-up artists shared their talents and expressed their pride in culture of their national origin.

Connetquot Central School District Director of ENL/World Languages Denise Hannaoui was on hand to enjoy the presentations, and congratulated the students and teachers for their outstanding efforts. Mrs. Hannaoui was joined by members of the Connetquot High School Foreign Language Honor Society, along with adviser Cheryl Sosa, as they showcased displays that they created about countries around the globe.

Helen B. Duffield Elementary School Principal Mrs. Lisa Farrell was on hand as well to witness the day’s events, and thoroughly enjoyed the student-dancers who shared their Pakistani costumes and dancing routines, the East Asian hand decorations and face-painting tables, along with the Taiko Drummers of Japan who entertained all attendees.

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