Garden City Public Schools

On Dec. 9, Garden City’s primary and elementary students and staff presented instructional updates to the board of education through hands-on demonstrations and discussions.

Primary principals Dr. Suzanne Viscovich, Ms. Eileen Vota and Mr. Jim Curran shared updates from Hemlock, Homestead and Locust Schools, highlighting growth in literacy and math through WIN time, abbreviated for “What I Need” time, where students deepen skills in fluency, phonemic awareness, phonological concepts and foundational math.

Primary students then guided the board through math and literacy activities, including numerical reasoning tasks, sentence-building games and phonics exercises. A second group led a science demonstration focused on inquiry-based learning, showing how students observe, think and wonder to spark curiosity. Using flashlights and paper gnomes, they modeled a lesson on shadows, illustrating how changes in light position affect shadow size and direction — connecting their findings to prior observations of the sun’s movement throughout the day.

Elementary Principals Chris Hartigan and Keri Hand followed with updates from Stratford and Stewart Schools, noting the continued success of Enrichment for All and Monumental Math, two student favorites that emphasize collaboration and engagement.

Two Stewart third graders then introduced their interdisciplinary monumental math unit, guiding the board through a virtual tour of the Pyramids of Giza using Google Arts & Culture’s Talking Tours feature to ask and receive information in real time. They explained how studying global landmarks supported math learning, including height and scale, which they applied in designing their own monuments.

Stratford students, who completed the same unit, shared their finished monuments with the board. They described their inspiration, collaborative process and how they integrated social studies content with mathematical design concepts to bring their creations to life.

The presentations and discussions highlighted the depth and creativity of learning across Garden City Schools. From hands-on math and literacy activities to inquiry-driven science and interdisciplinary projects, students are engaging in meaningful, real-world learning experiences. The board of education witnessed firsthand how Garden City Schools build curiosity, collaboration and critical thinking to ensure that every student has the opportunity to grow as an innovative and confident learner.