Students at Gribbin Elementary School celebrated Earth Day on April 22 by reciting poetry, singing a song and recognizing the planting of four new trees in front of the school. Michael Ktistakis, who owns All-Island Lawn Maintenance of Glen Cove and has a child attending the school, donated the plants, which included two kousa dogwood trees and two yews. The students had been learning about Earth Day in their classes, recognizing the need to continually recycle and take care of the planet.

During the celebration, second-graders read original poems about Earth Day and everyone joined together to sing Raffi’s “Big Beautiful Planet.” Several students ceremoniously shoveled soil to mark the occasion. Additionally, Glen Cove Mayor Ralph Suozzi thanked all students, parents and teachers for their participation in the event.

Young writers from throughout Glen Cove were recently honored by the Glen Cove Library for their participation in the 24th annual Write and Illustrate Your Own Book contest. With parents, family, teachers and principals in attendance, 11 students in grades 2-5 from Glen Cove School District elementary schools were honored, in addition to one student from the School of the Holy Child.

Youth Services librarians judged the writings and selected pieces based on grade-level expectations, creativity, imagination, proper sentence structure and good illustrations. Winners received a ribbon, certificate and a book, which was either a Newbury or Caldecott winner. All other participants in the contest received a certificate honoring their entry.

“A special thank you to the parents and families of our winners, who have encouraged their children’s talents by reading to them and helping them with their writing,” said Anna Dunlap, Head of Youth Services at the Glen Cove Library.

First graders at Gribbin School learned about sea stars as they touched and observed live "Stars of the Sound." An educator from the Waterfront Center in Oyster Bay brought several sea stars to the school, as well as clams and mussels, shellfish that the sea stars eat, all of which can be found in the Long Island Sound. The children identified the sea stars' parts and learned how sea stars eat, see, and regenerate arms, culminating the session by making a sea star craft.

Adopting the theme “Healthy Mind, Healthy Body” for the 2012-13 school year, Gribbin Elementary School has been participating in many activities during the year that highlight the need for proper nutrition, exercise and overall health. Students throughout the school had an opportunity to enjoy an afternoon of healthy eating, featuring a variety of nutritious snacks. Classes made everything from smoothies and trail mix to yogurt parfaits, with students assembling their own snacks. Every class shared their healthy snack with another class in their grade.

Teachers have been discussing the importance of maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle with their students. The initiative serves to educate the students on healthy choices and food options in everyday life.

Students at Gribbin Elementary School recently participated in “The Souper Bowl of Caring,” the fourth year in a row the school participated in the event. The Souper Bowl is a nationwide food drive that calls on schools, churches, and other organizations to collect non-perishable food items and donate them to a charity of their choice. The event coincides with the NFL’s Super Bowl to bring awareness to the needs of food pantries across the countries, which are traditionally depleted following the holiday season. Gribbin School families donated 305 pounds of food over the two-week collection period. The collected food was donated to the food pantry at Saint Rocco’s Church in Glen Cove. Pictured are some Gribbin School students with the collected food before it was delivered to the church.