For students in the Hewlett-Woodmere school district, the Outdoor Environmental Center at Woodmere Middle School provides a positive learning environment regardless of the subject. John Andruzcewicz, the middle school principal, wants the center to continue to grow, so he helped secure a $10,000 grant from the New York Islanders’ Power Play for Education program.
The program awards $10,000 to each of 10 schools at the team’s home games at UBS Arena in Elmont. Schools submit proposals for projects, programs or equipment that would enhance learning opportunities for its students.
Andruzcewicz, who has been in the district for two years, saw a social media post advertising the program and decided to apply. “The environmental center isn’t just a hub for our students,” he said. “It serves Hewlett Elementary and Ogden Elementary students as well.”
The center, which opened in the middle school’s inner courtyard in 2015, introduces students to science and interdisciplinary studies. It has two learning spaces where teachers can host groups of any size, a number of planting beds and a climate-controlled greenhouse for growing plants. There are also a fish and turtle pond and a bird and butterfly garden populated with native Long Island plant species.
Students in grades three through eight conduct experiments, learn about native species and agriculture, compost cafeteria waste, inspect plants for pest damage and nutrient deficiencies, and explore growing techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics and propagation.
One program for third-graders sends students to three learning stations, where they learn about bee pollination, the greenhouse and the pond’s nitrogen cycle — the balance of oxygen-related compounds in the water. The district’s science chair, Brian Terry, said that when younger grades visit the middle school, older students have the chance to become mentors.
“It builds their confidence,” Terry said. “When they have the opportunity to share what they’ve learned, it inspires the younger ones to be interested in the science as well.”
Engaging students in a hands-on environment, Terry added, makes for “true learning.” He noted their work with equipment like calipers and probes, and their data analysis. “We are constantly trying to find things that are engaging for students by finding real-world applications,” he said.
The environmental center has benefited from grant money before. During the 2016-17 school year, it was presented with $5,000 by SUNY Polytechnic Institute and the New York State School Boards Association for winning the 2016 Be the Change Award. The grant recognized the middle school for programs that create meaningful change for students and the community.
Ken Mossey, the lead teacher in the center, started his career in environmental education at Queens College in the late 1990s. He said that by securing the grant from the Islanders, Andruzcewicz has given the staff another opportunity to expand programs and curriculum.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for us,” Mossey said. “I always want to bring an excitement for kids coming over and engaging in hands-on learning.”
In 2015, the middle school’s inner courtyard was a run-down, underused area. It took a long time, Mossey said, to persuade teachers to find ways to use the space. Now, all sixth-grade classes complete a science fair project in the greenhouse, and language arts teachers read poetry to their students there.
“We’ve had every discipline at this point come out there,” Mossey said, mentioning social studies, health and music classes. “We’ve really tried, over the course of time, to just keep expanding and figuring out how we can incorporate more people.”
Dozens of district administrators and faculty attended the Islanders-Pittsburgh Penguins game at UBS Arena on Monday night for the check presentation. Among them were Superintendent Dina Anzalone; Assistant Superintendents Patrick Fogarty and Lorraine Smyth; Richard Mangeri, the middle school’s assistant principal; and Barbara Giese, executive director of communications. The group joined Andruzcewicz on the ice to receive the grant from Islanders Co-owner Jon Ledecky.
The middle school is planning to use the grant money for new hands-on learning tools like weather monitoring equipment, new composting systems and environmental science stations. The hope, Andruzcewicz said, is to expand the center’s current programs so students can collect and analyze more real-world data.
“We want to continue doing and adding to the great programs that we already have out there,” he said. “This helps us achieve that.”
