Thursday, March 27, 2025
At Newbridge Road School in the North Bellmore School District, “golden birthdays” aren’t just celebrated, but versified into a poem. One of the school’s secretaries, Dianne Agoglia, has long been Newbridge Road’s resident poet, and she turns the numerical coincidence into a personalized set of verses, for students whose age matches their birth date.
A golden birthday occurs when someone turns the age that matches the day of the month they were born, for example, turning 5 on the 5th of the month or 10 on the 10th of the month. It is rare in the sense that it will only occur once in person’s lifetime, and is considered a special milestone.
Agoglia has been writing and reading poems for many years at Newbridge Road School, often marking other milestones, such as the school’s 100th anniversary, which was celebrated in 2024, staff retirements, and other celebrations.
In regards to her golden birthday poems, Agoglia recalls the exact date she read her first one to a student: June 11, 2009. It sticks out, she explained, because June 11 also happens to be Agoglia’s birthday. One of Newbridge’s students was turning 11 that day — hence the inspiration for that poem — marking the unofficial beginning of this poetry series.
Before working in the school’s main office, Agoglia worked in an administrative role in a different office, located on the second floor of Newbridge Road School. When she moved into her current position, it became easier for her to keep track of all golden birthdays.
“It’s fun — they love it,” she told the Herald. “When the kids see me in the hallway, they know and say, ‘Oh, is it someone’s golden birthday?’”
On Feb. 7, Agoglia stopped by one of Newbridge’s third-grade classrooms, where a student, George, was turning nine on Sunday, Feb. 9.
“It all has to do with the date of your birth and the number of years that show what you’re worth,” Agolgia read aloud to the class, “when your years match the date of the day you were born.
“So on Sunday you’ll be nine, just like the date,” she continued, “happy golden birthday, George, I hope it’s great.”
As there are often plenty of golden birthdays that take place over the summer, Agoglia said she also celebrates those. And on one occasion, a student was left of the list — she was turning 12 on that upcoming July 12. As to not leave her out of the festivities, Agolgia delivered the poem and a small gift that accompanies it, to her home over the summer.
From that first poem on June 11, 2009 through last week’s celebration for George, Agoglia has created a lasting legacy at Newbridge Road School, codified in the verses of many poems — especially those that mark the golden birthdays of many.
