By:Carrie James
A cluster of students gathered in room 303 at East Meadow High School last Saturday and put their brains to the test.
The young people, taking part in East Meadow School District's first Festival of Learning, played a handful of mental challenges created by sixth graders in Woodland Middle School's Brain Quest program.
"These kids really did a lot of study on the brain," said their teacher Marilyn Schreiber, who added they developed the games after a study unit on brain functions. "They also studied different brain problems. They could tell you what games would be good for people with certain brain problems and which games people couldn't play if they had a particular disorder."
Brain Quest, the school's gifted program, was just one of many school programs throughout the district that were showcased at the Festival of Learning.
"It's a celebration of how great our school district is and all the great programs we have," said Yvonne Amato, a member of the festival planning committee.
With estimates of more than 1,000 East Meadow residents in attendance, festival planners called the event a huge success. It offered several opportunities for people to learn something new, whether a skill or information about the district or community. More than 100 volunteers helped the festival run smoothly.
Throughout the seven-hour event, some 100 presentations and workshops were conducted, a majority of them featuring class projects, school programs or clubs.
The Brain Quest presentation at the high school allowed some of the district's gifted children to show off their skills at developing games that test the mind.
"The reason we did these games was that we wanted to test different parts of the brain," said sixth grader Daniel Bamba. "I came here because I wanted to show people my game and wanted to see the other things here because there is so much going on."
In addition to Brain Quest, McVey Elementary School students held a workshop addressing water conservation and protection. The school has a before-school club called Water Watchers, and the students help educate the community about the importance of caring for the water supply.
"These students are interested in saving the water and the environment," said fourth-grade teacher Donna Berardi, club adviser. "Hopefully, these students gain an awareness of how important it is to take care of our environment."
Other Woodland Middle School students led a workshop about their project to send pond samples into space aboard the Shuttle Discovery.
Events included everything from band performances to sports clinics to Project Bird Watch, a Woodland classroom project that teaches children about birds.
"Kids love this project," said Kathy Devlin, sixth-grade science teacher at Woodland. "The project teaches how birds fly by studying their bodies up close. They chart the birds' patterns. They have made a Web site about the project."
The festival, Devlin said, was an opportunity for students to show others what they have learned and also give the birds a chance to act for the crowds. Kukolo, a Cockatoo, loved to dance for the crowd and perform tricks.
At day's end, visitors, presenters and school officials said the festival succeeded in its mission to celebrate the district's achievements and those of the surrounding community.
"It's given a very large town a small-town feeling," said Marie Ventimiglia, planning committee member. "It makes us feel more like a close-knit community."
