Saturday Enrichment Program

Our Saturday Enrichment Program has begun!  Free to all NIS families, we are offering Storytime with music, art activities and of course, great storybooks.  This program is designed for preschool children and their parents. We still have a few openings available.  If you are interested, call Betsy Kaplan at 631 924 5583.

Dinosaur Fun at NIS

Our NIS kids love dinosaurs, and we are all learning more about them at our Special Event!  Parents are invited to join us as we search for dinosaur eggs, create a fossil, put together dinosaur puzzles, and play a dinosaur bean bag toss game.  To cap it all off, we can make a volcano erupt!  Come and have fun, just watch out for those dinosaur teeth!

A Gala Affair

Tuesday night, March 5, was the night of our annual gala, honoring two women whose dedication and support have made such a difference  at NIS.  Our gala, which had to be rescheduled due to Hurricane Sandy, was held at Villa Lombardi, attended by almost 200 people.  Flowers, music, dancing and heartfelt speeches made this a very special night.

 Our first honoree of the night, Rhoda Rosenblum, retired from NIS in 2008 as the coordinator of our Child and Family Services.  Her insight, compassion and empathy epitomizes the best of NIS as we continually strive to form supportive and collaborative partnerships with families. She was given the Rhoda Rogoff award, named after one of the founders and co-directors of our learning center

Our final honoree, Dr. Kerri Cronin, won our Woman of the Year award.  Dr. Cronin, and her husband, Sean Folliard are the parents of an NIS student, Quinn and an older son, Declan.  In the short time that Quinn and his family have been with NIS, Kerri has been tireless in her support of NIS.  Her energy and enthusiasm inspire us as do her devotion to her family and children with special needs.  Last night, her colleagues from Stony Brook University Hospital seconded our feelings with their own words of admiration.

How lucky we are to have had these two remarkable women supporting our efforts!

Winter Bear Hunt!

Our Special Event this month is a Bear Hunt!  Our students will hunt for the bear as they go on a journey through a forest, swim through the water, crawl through the mud, and climb a mountain.  When they finally find the bear's cave, each student will be rewarded with a teddy bear donated by Beargivers which is a philanthropic organization that donates teddy bears to children with medical and special needs.  Many thanks to the Beargivers organization for their generosity.

NIS Students Learn about Dental Health

We will host a special visitor on January 29th.  A dental hygienist  from Stony Brook University School of Dentistry will be working with our children and teaching them about the best way to take care of their teeth.  Don't be surprised if your child comes home and tells you about the giant toothbrush he/she saw at school!

Winter Activities Special Event

With the cold weather upon us, we may as well have some fun!  Our Special Event this month focuses on winter activities, including building a snow fort, ice skating, throwing snowballs, drinking hot chocolate, and more!  The best part is that it all takes place indoors in our Open Space.  The dates are January 30 and 31, so look in you child's backpack for your invitation with the scheduled date and time.  Hope to see you there!

Parent Workshop on Special Education Transition for our Graduates

As children move closer to their fifth birthday, many questions arise concerning their future schooling.  We are pleased to present a  workshop that will address the concerns of parents of a child who is currently classified as a preschooler with a disability. Our guest speaker will discuss the differences between preschool and school age special education services.  We will also discuss the meeting that parents will have with their school district's Committee on Special Education.
Our workshop will be held on Tuesday January 22, at 6:30 p.m.  Look in your child's backpack for further information.