Every school in the country has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including Jefferson Primary School in Huntington UFSD. The public health crisis has required a long list of changes to every aspect of education, but Jefferson is finding new ways to preserve and promote cherished aspects of its instructional program.
Jefferson reading teacher Lisa Sejarto took to the airwaves last Friday night for a virtual winter read-aloud. Students logged in and listened to "Latke the Lucky Dog" by Ellen Fischer and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss. “We spread a little holiday cheer tonight,” Principal Valerie Capitulo-Saide said.
The event was held over the Zoom online platform. A link was shared with everyone in advance and more than 60 members of the Jefferson Primary School community participated.
“We have two more winter read-aloud nights planned for December,” Ms. Capitulo-Saide said. “Our goal for our virtual read-aloud nights is to spread some holiday cheer to our Jefferson students and their families during this challenging time.”
Ms. Sejarto is in her second year at Jefferson as a leave replacement reading teacher. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at St. John’s University in 1990 and 1992, respectively.
Prior to coming to Huntington, Ms. Sejarto was a third grade teacher at St. Joseph’s School in Astoria, Queens; a classroom teacher at Jackson Annex Elementary School in Hempstead; a reading teacher at Pulaski Road Elementary School in East Northport and a Title I instructional reading assistant in the Connetquot school district.
