skip to main content

Current News

Fourteen Elwood Orchestra Students Perform at LISFA

Fourteen fantastic Elwood string musicians for LISFA thumbnail264275

Fourteen fantastic Elwood string musicians were recently chosen for the annual Long Island String Festival Association orchestra ensembles, placing them among the top orchestra students in Suffolk County. Acceptance into the festival is extremely competitive and is based on NYSSMA scores and teacher recommendations. During the weekend of the LISFA festival, the students participate in two rehearsals and a culminating concert; high school students performed on Jan. 12, while fifth through eighth grade students performed on Jan. 26.

The students selected to perform were Kailyn Dowlatram and Samuel Koven-Ahmad from James H. Boyd Intermediate School; Victoria Agrawal, Raho Kim and Aren Saunders from Elwood Middle School; and Margarita Agrawal, Louise Hartough, Rachel Kim, Davin Li, Jewel Li, Bella Ronai, Emma Rothleder, Irena Yeung and Camille Zreik from Elwood-John H. Glenn High School.



Date Added: 2/12/2025

Carnival Time Enjoyed at Annual STEAM Night

Students at Annual STEAM Night thumbnail264202

It was carnival time on Jan. 23 as the Elwood School District presented its annual STEAM Night, held throughout Elwood Middle School. This year’s event, titled the “STEAM Carnival,” gave students from kindergarten through eighth grade an opportunity to explore science, technology, art and math concepts by trying out such myriad exciting activities such as catapult bowling with ping pong balls; racing Dash robots; creating snow cone slime, marble mazes and magnetic fishing games; building mini Ferris wheels and rubber-band-powered balloon cars; designing musical instruments out of everyday objects; and attempting an acrobatic balance challenge using using marshmallows, skewers and toothpicks.

Date Added: 2/10/2025

Elwood Music Sponsors Student Talent Show

Students performing at Elwood Music Sponsors talent show i thumbnail264100

Elwood Music Sponsors hosted a talent show in the Elwood-John H. Glenn High School Performing Arts Center on Jan. 31, featuring students from James H. Boyd Intermediate School and Harley Avenue Primary School. Acts included singing, dancing and magic. Elwood Music Sponsors is a parent-run organization that raises money to support the music programs across the district. Every year, they provide scholarships to dedicated senior music students from the school’s band, chorus and orchestra.

“It was such a treat to see the amazing talent we have here in Elwood,” John Glenn chorus teacher Brittany Wheeler said. “These young students did an incredible job preparing for their moment in the spotlight.”

Date Added: 2/5/2025

A Transformative Poetry Slam at Boyd

Boyd Poetry Slam Students thumbnail264099

The 23 participating students from Marsha McLeod’s class at Elwood’s Boyd Intermediate School held their annual Poetry Slam on Jan. 24 in the school’s auditorium. After choosing a poem they liked with at least six stanzas, each student spent several months of practice in memorizing their selected work, and created slideshows to accompany their poems. Student Makayla Bickoff served as the Poetry Slam’s emcee, with Betty Driscoll as the assistant emcee and Elizabeth Lyons and Victoria Risani handling technology for the event.

“We all have memorized, practiced and prepared our poems and slideshows,” Bickoff, who read “Sick” by Shel Silverstein. “We are learning amazing life lessons that most people learn in college, including how to speak in public, work as a group and manage schoolwork with life and extracurricular activities.”

“I would like to congratulate my classmates for all of their hard work and a job well done,” said Driscoll, who read “The Pig” by Roald Dahl. “Today is a day my classmates and I will remember forever.”

“To say that I am proud of our students is an understatement,” McLeod said. “The journey to today’s event was fraught with some anxiety, tears and disbelief in one’s own power. When one participates and puts one’s own fear to bed, the rationalization of one’s own ability to overcome is transformative.”

Date Added: 2/5/2025

Board of Ed Honors 21 Talented PTA Reflections Winners

21 Talented PTA Reflections Winners thumbnail263785

Twenty-one talented PTA Reflections contest winners were recognized at the Elwood School District Board of Education’s Jan. 16 meeting, presented by PTA representative Vashmir Pascal-Turner.

Honored students for 2024 PTA Reflections included Harley Avenue Primary School’s Sean Clancy (photography honorable mention), Cornelius Driscoll (photography), Mia Mueller (literature) and Robert Romano Teschmacher (photography); James H. Boyd Intermediate School’s Kaia Abdulkhalek (visual arts), Yonatan Adaki (literature), Tyler Brown (visual arts), Jason Cabasso (visual arts), Kyle Clancy (photography), Mariah Fardette (dance choreography), Nolan Moreno (literature honorable mention) and Anna Scarola (photography honorable mention); Elwood Middle School’s Erika Assimilalo (literature honorable mention), Kaitlyn Fazal (photography), Joseph Febbraro (literature), Mia Giacalone (visual arts), Emily Meringola (visual arts honorable mention), Makayla Shek (photography honorable mention) and Syra Zaman (visual arts honorable mention); and Elwood-John H. Glenn High School’s Jia Chung (visual arts) and Sophia Vitevitch (visual arts honorable mention).

“On behalf of the Elwood Council of PTAs, I would like to thank all the students who submitted entries and the parents who encourage their students to participate,” Pascal-Turner said.

Also recognized by the Board was Elwood-John H. Glenn High School junior Camila Avila for being recently named a Grand Prize winner of the 2024 Hispanic Heritage Month essay contest.

Date Added: 1/22/2025