From the Desk of the CEO

Dear Families, Staff and Friends,

The crisp fall weather has inspired many wonderful events and multi-sensory activities bringing our students the very best the season has to offer. After months of preparation, the Wheatley Farms Harvest Festival on Oct. 9 was an enormous success due to the time and talent of BCCS leadership and volunteers. Through their efforts, a dynamic sensory area welcomed children of all abilities to participate in the festival.

Education should be joyful—and reading this eNewsletter I can’t help but smile learning more about how the Marcus Avenue Preschool gym was transformed into a harvest festival with activities like candy-cane bowling; how a reading lesson inspired a visit to the old apple tree outside the Post Avenue Preschool; as well as the rock garden at the Barbara C. Wilson Preschool where community members express that “together we can ROCK the world.”

Strengthening our services and engaging staff across our affiliate agencies will always be an important way to prepare BCCS for the future. Recently, the Children’s Residential Program (CRP) hosted a CRP Day welcoming parents, former residents, and staff from across the agencies. 

Yes, the bonds we form at BCCS are powerful and can last a lifetime. Jennifer Iuliucci, a former BCCS student, was just recognized for 20 years of professional accomplishment as a Teacher Assistant. I applaud her connection and dedication to our community.

Thank you for being a part of the BCCS community and sharing our vision—for every child, a lifetime of achievement.

Best regards,

Stanfort J. Perry, CEO

Wheatley Farms Welcomes Families for a Day of Sensory Friendly Activities at Debut Harvest Festival

Families from across Long Island made their way to the Thomas S. Gulotta Wheatley Farms and Arts Center to take part in their inclusive Harvest Festival on October 9. This debut event was designed to delight children and families of all abilities through a celebration of the fall season with pony rides, a pumpkin patch, dancing, arts and crafts, and more.

Between goat parades and inflatable maze visits, families had the opportunity to visit sensory-friendly stations for play that not only offers a spot to recharge, but engages visual, auditory and tactile processing as well as fine motor skills.

Brookville Center for Children’s Services Senior Director Debra Doyle, teamed up with Children’s Education Center Director Denise Gaughan, Clinical Coordinator Ray Rogers, and Curriculum Coordinator Shery Dvorak to create sensory-friendly areas inside the farmhouse and outside in the sunshine.

Moments in this unique space were covered by News 12.

Marcus Avenue Preschool Welcomes Fall and Halloween With Annual Festival

Students at Marcus Avenue Preschool celebrated fall with a two-day Harvest Festival starting on October 19. The festive event, organized in partnership with the school’s Parent Association, took place during the classes’ usual gym period. 

There, Dance and Movement Therapist Danielle Wood, with the assistance of parent volunteers led the school’s nearly 200 children through several stations including candy-cane bowling, a skeleton toss, a witch’s hat rope throw, and a spooky Halloween “Floor is Lava” movement game. A bubble activity, tailored to students’ sensory needs, was also provided.

After games and movement, each child chose a pumpkin to decorate with stickers, which was undoubtedly, student Colby Pursoo’s favorite part.

“I got a big pumpkin and I’m decorating,” shouted Colby.

The festival was organized by the school’s Parent Association (PA), a group of 35 parents who throw events throughout the year supporting both students and staff.

To organize the festival, they gathered 200 pumpkins, various activity sets and enlisted nearly two dozen parent volunteers to assist during the event.

The Children’s Residential Program Invites Parents and Agency Staff to Participate in CRP Day

The Children’s Residential Program (CRP) held its first CRP Day on September 22. The event welcomed parents, former residents, staff from AHRC Nassau, Brookville Center for Children’s Services (BCCS), and Citizens Options Unlimited to visit the CRP to learn more about how the CRP supports children with special needs until early adulthood, then helps them transition into adult services. 

During the visit, visitors enjoyed food, outdoor games, and the opportunity to tour the three CRP residences in Lido Beach. 

Residential Program Director Sean Stallings shared, “The goal of the event was to connect people from across the family of organizations to the CRP environment – to connect names to faces, to network face to face, and for adult programs to get an idea of how the staff prepare the kids for post CRP life.”

Among nearly three-dozen confirmed attendees were AHRC Nassau leadership, some of whom were visiting the homes for the first time.

One was AHRC Nassau Vice President of Operation Shaun Weathers, who appreciated the opportunity to see firsthand how the children are being accommodated at the CRP and what key aspects of the location can be replicated in their future homes.

“I’m happy to be here and see how the children are looked over,” shared Shaun. 

“This is a new population for us at the intermediate age. They have more independence and should maintain that as they progress to their adult home. It was great speaking with managers to learn how they identify staff to better serve this growing population.”

Post Avenue Students Celebrate Fall With Multi-Sensory Learning Activities

The fall season brings about a new year for the children at Post Avenue Preschool. Being in preschool, many are just starting to take notice of the changes happening around them.

For this reason, Preschool Teacher Concepta “Connie” Neylon-Lorick organized several activities to show her students how to celebrate fall, learn about the changes in nature and explore new foods.

They started the school year reading from many fall-themed books including “Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf,” “Fall Leaves Fall,” and “When the Leaf Blew In.” A stand-out favorite among the children’s fall reading list was “An Apple A Day,” a large book by Melvin Berger they appreciated because of its size. The book is about two feet in length and nearly eleven inches wide.

Seeing how the children loved the book, Connie incorporated passages into classroom activities. After reading about apple blossoms, and how they eventually turn into the familiar, white-cored fruit, the class took a short walk to the apple tree that sits on the school’s grounds and practiced picking apples. This is an exercise they work on during their daily movement breaks. 

Barbara C. Wilson Preschool Re-Vamps Their Rock Garden

Barbara C. Wilson (BCW) Preschool is collecting over 100 decorative rocks from parents, students, and staff to renew their rock garden displayed around the school’s entrance. The garden was started in 2019 as a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) exercise proposed by the school’s DEI committee.

Preschool administrators wanted to create a unique and fun activity that allowed the BCW community to recognize their similarities and differences in a positive way, fostering an accepting environment for diverse learners.

At the start of the school year the curriculum department announced to families and staff that they were accepting new rocks to refresh the garden while maintaining its theme, “One person can make a difference, but together we can ROCK the world.”

“We want to highlight each families’ uniqueness and celebrate each individual child in our program. Each family’s rock serves as a marker of their children’s preschool journey,” shared BCW Director Diane M. Condy.

CEO Stanfort Perry Named to Long Island Family’s
“Champions of Long Island’s Special Needs Community”

See the full feature here.

The magazine, Long Island Family, recently recognized Brookville Center CEO Stanfort Perry as one of the “Champions of Long Island’s Special Needs Community.” 

“I’m honored to manage the agency’s overall operations so Brookville Center’s exceptional team can continue to advance the latest clinical interventions and curriculum,” said Stanfort.

“My passion for work in the disability community has been driven by outcomes—seeing people lead the lives they choose as a result of working closely with family, friends, and the community.”

NDEAM Spotlight: Jennifer Iuliucci Celebrates 20-Year Career at Children's Education Center

Early weekday mornings, Teacher Assistant Jennifer Iuliucci can be found guiding groups of children through the halls of the Children's Education Center. 

Jennifer assists students as they go from class to class, watches over them through their daily activities, or helps them through pre-vocational tasks.

Jennifer is an encouraging and positive presence. She’s also a former Children's Education Center student and longtime staffer. 

At a recent milestones event in October, she was recognized for 20 years of service as a TA.   

“The reason why I like working with these kids is because I feel like they need us. They need the hands-on help that we provide here, the one-to-one attention. This is my calling,” said Jennifer.