The last two of the four elementary schools in Farmingdale recently celebrated the expansion of their buildings to accommodate full day kindergarten which will begin in the district in September.

On Tuesday, March 13, students, faculty, alumni and administrators gathered in Woodward Parkway Elementary School's cafeteria to celebrate the construction which is already well under way at the school. The ceremony was held in the cafeteria due to the inclement weather.

On Thursday, March 15, students at Northside Elementary School completed the groundbreaking celebrations for the district when they gathered in the gymnasium with teachers, faculty and administrators to ceremoniously break ground.

At the ceremony at Woodward Parkway, Principal Anita Solovey explained to students the importance of the groundbreaking. "We are here this morning to celebrate a joyous and happy time for the Farmingdale community. We have seen our district's visions, goals and dreams become a reality," she told the students, adding that she hopes they learn a very important lesson from this day. "If you have a dream and you set a goal and you work very hard at it, it will come true. Hopefully you will be members of the [Farmingdale] community, whether you're a board of education member, a parent, a teacher, [or] an administrator; working together to support programs that are good for children will ultimately enhance the future of all of the generations to come."

Superintendent of Schools Gerard Dempsey added, "This has been a giant team effort. Leadership in terms of a school district is always a shared effort."

Those present at the Woodward Parkway ceremony told students that the reason for doing all the construction and expansion of each of the schools is to benefit the children. Board of Education President Anthony Vitale said that the students are always the priority of the board, the district, and the community.

"We're building into the future, children are first. We love our children in Farmingdale, everything we do in Farmingdale, is for you," Vitale told the students.

Other speakers present at the Woodward Parkway celebration included former students and graduates of the school. Nassau County Legislator Salvatore Pontillo reminisced about the time he spent as a student at the school.

"The teachers here and the administrators here care about you, they want you to grow up healthy and strong, they want you to learn, and the best thing you can do to say thank you is to be good students, good adults and to live a happy and healthy life," Pontillo said.

Other speakers included Dr. Dennis Kesden, former student, and Woodward Parkway PTA President Lisa Bell. JoEllen Armstrong, former student and current sixth-grade teacher at Woodward, said that despite all the cosmetic changes that have taken place, "one constant has been the determination and dedication necessary to make Farmingdale the best place to give children an education".

Jillian Troiano, president of the student council at Woodward Parkway represented the student body when she spoke of the significance of the ceremony and expansion.

"It does not only represent the growth of our school but the growth of our community. It will surely create a more enjoyable learning environment for all the current students at Woodward Parkway and it will continue for all the new students," Troiano said. "The student council would like to thank all the members of the community who helped make this addition possible. Without their support we would not be here today. It clearly shows what can be achieved when a community works together."

At the celebration at Northside, Heather Segale led the jazz band in Little Brown Jug and All That Jazz, which was followed by a welcoming speech by Principal Liz Garavuso, who explained to the children the importance of the groundbreaking.

"Today we're here to officially celebrate a dream come true," Garavuso said, telling students of dreams the teachers of Northside have had for more classroom space.

Following Garavuso's speech, Vivien Knudsen and Roseanne Visconti led several kindergarten children in singing Kids are People Too. The students sang about the importance of children and how even though they may be small, they still play an important role.

Student representatives then gathered for the symbolic hard hat ceremonial dig. To choose which students would participate, each grade held a lottery earlier this month and decided on one representative to be part of the official groundbreaking crew.

The ceremony concluded with members of the chorus singing We Are the People of the 21st Century under the direction of Judy Feuss and Ed Kozlowski.

The construction at Woodward Parkway and Northside are projects included in the bond proposal which was approved by the Farmingdale community last year. The districtwide construction will bring improvements to all six Farmingdale schools.