From The Desk of The CEO

Dear Families, Staff, and Friends,

As another school year at BCCS winds down, we find ourselves looking back on our accomplishments with great pride while anticipating what’s still to come.  Our community continues to thrive, offering opportunities and support to our students—as a result of our strong and engaged network of families, friends, teachers, administrators, and generous supporters.

This month alone, we celebrated wonderful achievements: from the successful Reach for The Stars event benefiting our Brookville campus to Post Avenue Preschool receiving a transformative $5,000 grant from The Hambrick Foundation. These milestones underscore the importance of strong family and community partnerships, which provide our students with increased opportunities for successful learning in school and beyond.

As we approach the end of this school year, we are filled with pride for our students who are preparing for graduation. This transition is the beginning of many new experiences that await them. We are equally excited about our upcoming summer, which promises to continue the vibrant journey of learning, growth, and let’s not forget fun.

In this edition, I hope you enjoy the stories filled with laughter and play, mindfulness and emotional support, along with growth and accomplishment. Let’s enjoy these moments while looking forward to the new experiences this summer will bring.

Best regards,

Stanfort J. Perry

Reach For the Stars Event Raises $80,000 for 
Children’s Education Center

This year, 200 guests gathered at the Crescent Beach Club in Bayville for Reach for the Stars, the annual fundraising event benefiting students from the Children’s Education Center. Altogether with tickets, sponsorships and raffle prizes, the event raised over $80,000 to support the school.

The evening brought together parents, teachers, administrators, and supporters for a night of fun, camaraderie, and prizes. Amongst the excitement were heartfelt speeches from BCCS Board President Al Capra, Director of the Children’s Education Center Denise Gaughan, and sibling speaker Megan Mancuso who shared, in her own words, how the school and the Children’s Residential Program supported her brother and her as a very involved, loving sister.  

The Children's Education Center is home to our school-age program and supports children from 3–21 years old. For parents, teachers, administrators, and families, they develop friendships that become their community. Year after year as their children grow and develop friendships, the families learn from each other and support one another.  

The funds from this year’s event will directly benefit two important initiatives. For our entire school community, funds will support the introduction of enriching on-campus, field-trip experiences. These activities are designed to be interactive and fully accessible, allowing every student to participate and benefit directly from their own classrooms and/or school environment. For students aged 13 and older, the school will be launching a Practical Assessment Exploration System (PAES) Lab in the lower level of the Cissy Birnbaum Building this fall. This simulated work environment provides practical job training across various fields, with about 300 opportunities. The PAES Lab acts as both a career development curriculum and an assessment tool, helping create personalized transition plans for students' futures beyond BCCS. 

View the images here!

Post Avenue Preschool Receives Grant
From The Hambrick Foundation

(Left to Right: Holly Tatum, Program Director and Board Member, The Hambrick Foundation; Chris O’Connor, Chief Operating Officer, BCCS; Debra Doyle, Senior Director, BCCS; Barry Donowitz, Chief Administrative Officer, BCCS; Stanfort Perry, CEO; and Bobby Hambrick, Founder and Board Member, The Hambrick Foundation)

Brookville Center for Children’s Services (BCCS) was awarded a $4,937 grant by The Hambrick Foundation on May 8 to assist the Post Avenue Preschool with the development of a sensory room. 

Bobby Hambrick, Founder and Board Member of The Hambrick Foundation, along with Holly Tatum, Program Director and Board Member, presented the award to BCCS Senior Director Debra Doyle, CEO Stanfort Perry, Chief Operating Officer Chris O’Connor, and Chief Administrative Officer Barry Donowitz. 

The funds will equip the preschool’s sensory room with innovative tools such as a bubble tube, UV fiber optic sensory lighting, and a marble panel. Post Avenue provides instruction and therapies to dozens of students with developmental delays and disabilities. The space and tools are specifically designed to aid in sensory integration and learning, by providing a supportive environment for students.
 
"We are so very thankful to The Hambrick Foundation for their commitment to young learners,” said Debra. “This sensory room will be a place where our students can explore their environment, safely engage, grow, learn, and thrive. Thank you for helping us create a space where every child can develop and explore new ways of learning.”

“Cookie Doughga:” A Mindful Success 
Barbara C. Wilson Preschool hosts local author, yoga instructor

“Stop, look, and listen,” Barbara C. Wilson (BCW) Preschool teachers and teacher assistants cheered, as the students prepared to welcome children’s yoga and mindfulness teacher Margot Harris, author of the book, “Cookie Doughga: A Book about yoga, mindfulness and cookies!”

On May 15, Margot hosted short mindfulness and yoga classes in each of the BCW classrooms from 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. The aim of this program was to provide the students, ages 3 to 5, with an opportunity to have an educational, enriching, and fun experience while they explore concepts of breath work, sound healing, body and mind awareness, and emotional regulation.

“I do feel yoga is a great thing for our students,” Diane M. Condy, Barbara C. Wilson Preschool Director, said. “It helps to calm them and center them.”

Children’s Education Center Students Expand Their Snack Cart

The Children’s Education Center’s snack cart has evolved from being a cart that rolls from classroom to classroom selling sweet treats to a full-blown snack shop that sets up in the school’s lobby every Friday.

Transitional students in the Ed Center run two pre-vocational programs as part of their curriculum: the snack cart and the school store. Each year a different classroom is assigned to run either the school store or snack cart. Typically, the snack cart goes from classroom to classroom selling brownies and muffins to students and teachers.

The baked goods sold are made by the students in the model apartment, which is complete with a full kitchen, bedroom, closet, and laundry area. The model apartment is used as a simulator for students to work on important life skills like learning to cook and self-care. 

Catching Smiles: Learning to Fish at Lido Beach

On a beautiful and breezy Saturday morning, Noah, and Adrian from House 28 of the Children’s Residential Program (CRP) were accompanied by Direct Support Professionals Monique Tackling and Tahisha Sheriff, and Recreation Coordinator Brandon Lyons on a trip to the West Marina in Lido Beach.

It was their first time going fishing and Brandon was ready to show them the ropes. 

Brandon joined the CRP just a few months ago and is determined to plan activities that broaden the children’s horizons and allow them to spend time in nature and their community. 

“I wanted the spring and summer months filled with more outdoor activities,” said Brandon. “Long Island is a great place to learn about nature if you just stop and look.”

Marcus Avenue Celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Lisa Kaplan, Marcus Avenue Preschool’s Social Worker, planned several activities to engage students, teachers, and staff. Her goal this month was to integrate daily activities that would support teachers and equip them with coping mechanisms to better relate to and address students' mental and emotional needs.

To do this, Lisa organized a spirit week promoting mental health/wellness activities throughout the month, including Meditation Mondays, Game Day Tuesdays, Dance Party Thursdays, and Positive Vibes Fridays.
On Mondays, teachers and staff had the option to participate in a 10-minute meditation session in the sensory room.

The sensory room is a haven for emotional rebalancing. With its mesmerizing bubble tubes, dim lighting, and squishy gel mats, it welcomes anyone who visits to settle on a bean bag and take a calming breath.

It's there that a small group gathered every Monday to release the day’s stress. On Game Day Tuesdays, everyone had the option to join in a game of Hedbanz in the gym. A favorite for students and staff was Positive Vibes Fridays, where everyone was encouraged to wear a t-shirt with a positive message.

Lisa’s activities are part of a greater stress reduction and mental wellness initiative she’s spearheading in the school. On May 15, she led a virtual mental health awareness and wellness presentation for all staff.

“In the teacher's mental health section, I focused on social emotional learning in the classroom and explained that kids show their emotions in some ways like adults, but also in different ways,” said Lisa.