On April 10, elementary music students from Sycamore Avenue, Idle Hour, Edward J. Bosti and John Pearl visited Oakdale-Bohemia Middle School for a special Mock NYSSMA event in preparation for the upcoming NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) festival.

The young musicians were paired with members of the OBMS Tri-M Music Honor Society, who guided them through their solo pieces, scales and sight reading exercises.

The 2025 NYSSMA festival will take place on April 24 at Connetquot High School.

Date Added: 4/14/2025

The Connetquot community came together for an evening of reading, writing and student achievement on April 10 at the district’s 14th annual Library Literacy Celebration, presented by the district’s library media specialists.

The event showcased an impressive collection of student work from every school in the district, including original poems, stories and essays. Hallways were transformed into literary galleries, highlighting students’ talent in reading and writing.

Families also joined in the fun through a bookmark-making station and a scavenger hunt in which students uncovered letters around Connetquot High School that spelled out a secret word. The Connetquot Public Library also held a raffle drawing for attendees.

A standout moment of the evening was a special reading by student-author Meghan Miller, a junior at Connetquot High School, who shared her published children’s book, “The Great Adventures of Martha Mae”. Inspired by her real-life pet hamster, Martha Mae, the book began as an assignment in her ninth-grade children’s literature class and was completed in a sophomore creative writing course. Meghan detailed her two-and-a-half-year journey to publication in a question-and-answer session after the read aloud. The evening culminated in a book signing, where excited young readers lined up to meet Meghan and have their copies of “The Great Adventures of Martha Mae” personally signed by the author.

Click here to view the Connetquot’s 14th annual Library Literacy Celebration slideshow.

 

Date Added: 4/14/2025

Connetquot High School was buzzing with energy, creativity and talent during the annual Showcase of the Arts, held on April 4. Parents, students and community members had the opportunity to peruse hundreds of elementary and secondary-level artwork, and attended multiple concerts and performances in the auditorium.

Director of Fine Arts and Music Vincent Malafronte thanked the community for attending the event and the faculty for sponsoring such fine workmanship. “Because of the support from families and the community, we are able to provide opportunities for our students that showcase their creative talents,” Mr. Malafronte said.

The performance schedule included the Oakdale-Bohemia Middle School kickline, Ronkonkoma Middle School kickline and Connetquot High School’s color guard and kickline. Elementary school-level student musicians also showcased their talents in the districtwide orchestra, ukulele, band and chorus ensembles. There were also more intimate performances by the high school’s chamber orchestra and the middle school chamber orchestra.

Click here to view the Connetquot’s Showcase of the Arts slideshow.

Date Added: 4/8/2025

Musician Darius Kaufmann visited Idle Hour Elementary to perform, "Music of the Earth: Celebrating World Cultures and Our Planet”, an immersive, multi-cultural workshop, featuring exotic instruments from around the globe.

Kaufmann guided students on a captivating musical journey, where they “traveled” to different times and places through the sounds of the unique instruments. Throughout the workshop, students had the opportunity to listen to and engage with a wide range of instruments, including the South American rain stick, Native American flute, a wolf drum, conch shell and didgeridoo.

The program provided students with a deeper connection to nature and other cultures through the sharing of facts, myths and stories and the use of these culturally significant instruments. 

 

Click here to view the Idle Hour Elementary listens to “Music of the Earth” slideshow.

 

Date Added: 4/8/2025

Mrs. Zelinski and Mrs. McIntyre's third grade classes at Idle Hour Elementary attended the “Taste of Australia” workshop, coinciding with their social studies curriculum. BOCES Instructor Chris Pitkin taught the students about Australian culture, the landscape, animals, life and traditions. They learned how aborigines do not have a written language but tell their stories through music and art. Students were then able to create their own boomerangs using the aboriginal technique of dot painting to tell their stories!

Click here to view the A Taste of Australia at Idle Hour Elementary slideshow.

 

Date Added: 4/7/2025