James A. Dever School Events

Celebrating History

On the grounds of James A. Dever and Willow Road Elementary Schools stands a piece of history, several unique-looking Chunky Continuum sculptures. These pieces of artwork, which were designed and created by Long Island sculptor Oliver O’Conner Barrett, were previously displayed at the 1965 World’s Fair, positioned in front of the Chunky Candy Bar Company Pavilion. On October 26, 1965, Valley Stream District 13 purchased the sculptures and has since included them as creative fixtures in the district’s landscape.

In a celebration of the sculptures rich history and in an effort to bring them to their previous glamour, District 13 recently restored the sculptures and, endeavoring leave a lasting mark on the school’s history, created a time capsule to bury beneath the surrounding sculptures at the James A. Dever school. During the school’s dedication ceremony, students read documents of research they discovered about the World’s Fair, the year 1965, and what they hoped the future would be like in 100 years when the time capsule is to be opened.

Late this spring, the time capsule was sealed by custodian Steve Ciervo, Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds Mike Palotta, and District #13 Board of Education President William P. Stris and buried on the grounds of the school building. Visitors to the school have been excited to see the restored sculptures displayed and proud to have one-of-a-kind pieces of history in their community.

Artwork Takes Shape Before Students’ Eyes

As an extension of their art lessons, fifth graders from James A. Dever Elementary School in the Valley Stream UFSD #13 recently enjoyed a field trip to the Nassau County Museum of Art. During the program, the museum's art experts led the students on a tour of the museum, which allowed each student to become actively engaged with a primary art object. The students also had the chance to view the "Pop and Op" exhibit, which included some works from both the Pop Art and Op Art movements of the 1960's.

Learning to be Safe & Smart

The James A. Dever first through fourth graders had an amazing experience as Radio Disney, in partnership with Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL), presented their Safety Smart Super Challenge. The program, which was set up similar to a game show, gave the students and teachers the opportunity to learn about making “safety smart” decisions while cheering on their team. Equipped with foam fingers and pom-poms, the students cheered on their peers as they learned about home, fire, electrical and water safety. Everyone left with the message to BE SAFE, and SMART!

A Bright Idea!

Picture this: You’re sitting at home when all of a sudden, there’s a blackout! You start to search for the flashlight but it’s nowhere to be found, and all you have are a couple of batteries. After a half hour you give up your search and accept the fact that you may be sitting in the dark for a little while, but wait! You just remembered that you know someone from Mrs. O’Sullivan’s third-grade class at James A. Dever Elementary School who recently took their knowledge of electricity one step further.

Through an interactive science lesson, Mrs. O’Sullivan’s students became more than just scientists, they became inventors as well! Taking the information they knew about light bulbs, conductors, simple circuits, and even switches, these bright young builders constructed their very own flashlights.

The students were amazed to watch as common household items, including paper towel tubes, some wires (or tinfoil), 2 batteries, and a light bulb, were easily converted into a fully operational flashlight!

Dever Students Work to Make A Difference

James A. Dever students recently participated in the 2008 National PTA Reflections Project titled, “I can make a difference by…”. Students in kindergarten through sixth grade entered original pieces in such categories as photography, visual arts, and literature.

Following the program’s theme, the students’ projects depicted ways in which they felt they could make a difference. Included in those areas were: “not wasting water”, “helping someone cross a busy street”, “ donating clothes” and “saving the rainforests”.

Hoops for Heart

On Friday, February 15, 2008, the James A. Dever Elementary School participated in Hoops for Heart and Jump Rope for Heart, two programs sponsored by the American Heart Association. The kindergarten through third grade tested their jumping skills through their participation in Jump Rope for Heart, while the fourth through sixth grade tossed basketballs, aiming for a slam dunk for the Hoops for Heart program.

The goal of the event was to raise awareness about heart disease and related illnesses, as well as to raise money for research, prevention and education programs. The event, which was a huge success, raised over $10,000.

The entire Dever community participated and a great time was had by all.

Clinging Together To Learn About Static

Have you ever put on a wool sweater one winter day, only to notice that your hair was sticking up?! We all know that this problem is caused by static electricity, but do you know how static electricity really works? If you are unsure, just ask Mrs. O Sullivan’s third graders at James A. Dever Elementary School, because after a scientific study on the subject, they are almost experts on the topic!

With the help of their teacher, the students learned about friction, atoms, and even how the electrons in an atom travel to form static electricity. Acting as scientists, the students used static to move cans, separate salt from pepper, and even make Styrofoam dance with their handmade static sticks. These third graders even discovered, through the use of balloons and static, that opposites attract and likes repel.

Building Bridges, Learning Lessons

The second-grade students at James A. Dever Elementary School had a traveling field trip on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 when The Long Island Children’s Museum located in Garden City, NY, visited the school armed with materials for a “Build It” workshop.

With the help of the presenters, the students learned about particular aspects of construction and architecture such as: ‘How do buildings stay up?’ ‘What makes a structure stable?’ ‘The mathematic principles and physical forces behind keeping structures such as bridges, towers and geodesic domes together.’ Following the instructional lesson, the students had the chance to apply what they learned to construct a freestanding structure out of marshmallows and toothpicks.

It was a fun-filled event for all!

Sign Language Holiday Concert

Members of the Sign Language Program from Valley Stream Central High School visited the students at James A. Dever Elementary School to sing holiday songs, while they simultaneously signed the words in sign language to the students in the audience. Several of the school’s students who participate in the building’s afterschool sign language program also joined the group on stage and performed for our students and staff.

The World According to Third Graders

The students in Mrs. Galloway's third-grade class at James A. Dever Elementary School in the Valley Stream UFSD #13 have been studying world geography and all types of land and water forms as a part of their social studies curriculum. They put the lessons they learned to the test by creating landform dictionaries, ‘traveling’ the Earth looking for plateaus, peninsulas, rivers, islands, and creating original landform maps, incorporating a theme and a lot of imagination. Their work was proudly shared with others and showcased for all to see.

"Social Studies in the Art Room" Student Gallery

James A. Dever Elementary School recently had a special cross-curriculum exhibit on display which highlighted artwork from students in grades K-6 that connected with and worked to enhance the district’s social studies curriculum. The artwork displayed included family collages, paintings about cultural holidays, Mexican Day of the Dead masks, Native American yarn weavings, Latin American artist inspired self-portraits, and Greek vase paintings.

Native American Field Trip

On December 19th, fourth graders from James A. Dever Elementary School participated in a Native American in-house field trip. The company “Journeys” visited the school to present a Native American Eastern Woodlands educational program.
The school gym was transformed into a Native American museum with real artifacts, clothing, games, and weapons. Throughout the program, the students even got the chance to walk through a longhouse equipped with animal skins and Native American tools, and had the opportunity to design and make their own clay pots. Additionally, the students sang Native American songs and danced Native American dances.
The program was truly a terrific culmination to the grade’s study on Native Americans.

Who Would Replace Zeus?

What would happen if the Grecian god Zeus decided to one day give up his immortal life on Mount Olympus and move into the neighborhoods of Valley Stream? Who would be named his successor? That was the exact premise behind a recent English Language Arts and Social Studies activity involving the sixth grade Gifted and Talented students at James A. Dever Elementary School.

Each embodying a different Greek god or goddess, including Aphrodite, Athena, Poseidon, and Hades, the students delivered speeches as to why they were the best candidate.

In order to prepare for the project, the students were immersed in stories and mythology from ancient Greece. Once every student selected his or her character, they had to research and learn about their character and their relationship to Zeus, design an appropriate costume, write and deliver a speech declaring their right to the throne, and take notes from other speeches in order to argue points.

"This engaging project blends the social studies and English Language Arts curriculums. The students not only researched and studied the main characters from Greek mythology, they also participated in the practices of writing, listening, speaking, note-taking and logical reasoning. These skills will serve them well in the future," stated Gifted and Talented teacher Richard Rosenfeld.

Dever Buddies Read Together

Recognizing the countless benefits reading has and in order to help cultivate their younger peers’ love for literature, the sixth grade students in Mrs. Scavelli’s class at James A. Dever Elementary School in the Valley Stream UFSD #13 have been meeting with the kindergarten students in Mrs. DiScala’s class monthly as a part of the school’s Reading Buddies program.

For their participation in the program, which pairs kindergarten and sixth-grade students together to explore literacy, the two classes began the year with a “meet and greet” session for the students to get to know each other. At subsequent meetings, the “reading buddies” shared autumn-themed books, along with student-written books. Most recently, the kindergarten students found their Gingerbread Man hiding in the sixth graders’ classroom, which was then followed by a winter holiday sing-along and holiday card exchange.

Reading To Feed
Dever Students Join the Heifer Program Read to Feed

Third-grade students at James A. Dever Elementary School in the Valley Stream UFSD #13 have joined Heifer International’s mission to bring much-needed relief to impoverished families around the world through their reading project ‘Read to Feed.’
The project, which provides families with a ‘living loan’ of an animal and the training needed to take care of it rather than a non renewable source of food, not only teaches students important character lessons but also works to promote literacy.

For their participation in the program, the students have been reading as many books as possible and seeking donations from reading sponsors. The donated funds will go towards the purchase of livestock for a family. After the family receives that animal, they are asked to ‘repay’ the living loan by passing on one or more of their gift animal’s offspring to another family in need, who in turn is asked to continue the chain to help others.

Walk Like an Egyptian

The sixth-grade students in Mrs. Scavelli’s class at James A. Dever Elementary School in the Valley Stream UFSD #13 created Egyptian funeral masks as part of their unit on Ancient Egypt. The students used plaster craft on molds and then individualized each mask with paint. Additionally, as part of their lessons the students learned about the mummification process and the belief in the afterlife.

Spreading the Holiday Joy

On December 18, 2007, the James A. Dever Elementary School Fabulousos shared their energetic holiday show with a most appreciative audience at the Orzac Center, located on the premises of the North Shore/LIJ Franklin Hospital Medical Center. Fifty performers filled the air with angelic sounds and warmth of the holiday season.

Prior to the vocal entertainment, the audience got quite a chuckle from the Fabulousos’ performance of “Food Says It All,” an original play humorously showing how food helps to define and celebrate different cultures, especially during the holiday season. To culminate the delightful performance, holiday cards created by the James A. Dever Student Council were handed out to each member of the audience as performers and audience members mingled and exchanged season’s greetings.

With the advent of the District’s new wellness policy guidelines, teachers and parents alike have been looking for ways to celebrate the holidays in non-traditional ways.
The class parents for Mrs. Marchesi’s third grade class truly were creative and thoughtful in their management of class parties. They felt that in the holiday spirit it would benefit the children to give to others and arranged a trip to the Franklin Nursing Home. Following their trip, the students created bookmarks, wrapped them, and made cards for the seniors.

Upon arrival, pairs of students introduced themselves to a senior, read a book, presented their gift, and enjoyed playing a few games, including an educational Everyday Math card game.

The Mitten Tree

While the temperatures begin to drop outside, the James A. Dever Elementary School Student Council thought it would be nice to bring warmth to the less fortunate in local communities. Throughout the month of December the Student Council collected new mittens and gloves of all sizes and put them on display on the holiday tree in the lobby of the school -- an idea that was inspired by the story The Mitten Tree by Candace Christiansen. All donations were sent to the Interfaith Nutrition Network located in Hempstead, NY, an organization that helps the hungry and homeless throughout Long Island.