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Wayland-Cohocton Middle School��

Wayland-Cohocton Central Schools is a rural district in Steuben County, New York. When we closed, our primary concern as a district was the safety and well-being of our students and families. Throughout the closure, our middle school continued to maintain contact with students beyond providing curriculum and content. Keeping students engaged during emergency remote teaching was a challenge undoubtedly faced by all school districts. Wayland Middle School excelled by maintaining connections with students. As you will see in our video, our 7th and 8th grade teachers created additional ways to maintain relationships with our students.

Students Keep History in Time Capsules��

Horseheads Intermediate School, Horseheads Central Schools��

Reminding students that they are a part of an important point in history, several sixth-grade teachers at Horseheads Intermediate School asked students to create a time capsule as one of their projects during the pandemic. After providing video instructions about making a time capsule, they asked students to think about a container to use for their capsule, decide on their items, and create their capsule. Teachers also provided a template for any printed material students might want to include, and asked students to consider when they would open it and where they would store the time capsule. Students were encouraged to share a photo of their work in Google Classroom. The project was meant to be fun, without adding extra stress on the students, and to help them understand and be aware that they are living through an important time in history. “If you need more time than this week to complete this, take it,” explained one teacher. “Make this something that you will look forward to opening in 10, 20, 30+ years!”

Social Workers Host Food Drive and Donate Nearly 3,000 pounds of Food to Long Island Cares

Eastern Suffolk BOCES (ESBOCES) Student Assistance Services

Social workers from Eastern Suffolk BOCES (ESBOCES) Student Assistance Services collected 2,950 pounds of food during two food drives. Gena Marino, an ESBOCES school counselor, organized the events to support the Harry Chapin Food Bank through Long Island Cares, Inc.�� Student Assistance Services is an ESBOCES program designed to address the social and emotional needs of students by placing professional counselors in schools.

Pamela Gittler (upper left), a school social worker from Middle Island, holds a box of donations to be donated to Long Island Cares. All food drive participants were required to wear masks. Lisa Solomon (upper right), a teaching assistant from East Northport, recruited the help of her community to donate 500 pounds of food. The food drive was set up in the parking lot of Sequoya High School, and donation boxes were placed far enough apart to accommodate social distancing guidelines.