John F. Kennedy Elementary School

Address: 175 Brookvale Avenue, West Babylon, NY 11704
Main Office: (631) 376-7801
Attendance Office: (631) 376-7875
Fax: (631) 376-7809
Principal: Ms. Denisha Van Liew
Follow Ms. Denisha Van Liew on Twitter!

"We are on our way with J.F.K."

John F. Kennedy Elementary School in West Babylon, New York, is a kindergarten through fifth grade public school. The school opened its doors, for the first time in September 1965. The school was named for the 35th president of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who had been assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in 1963.

Our mission statement reads, "The community of John F. Kennedy Elementary School is committed to encouraging, empowering and engaging children as they are valued, for their individuality, and diverse capabilities. We emphasize the individual needs of the whole child while enhancing learning. We will provide a safe, nurturing learning environment while inspiring children to achieve academic potential as life long learners." The school's motto, "We're On Our Way With J.F.K." was suggested by the students of West Babylon, not long after the building opened.

The JFK staff works as a team to deliver high quality instruction that is aligned with our state learning standards. We are extremely proud of our school which has a well deserved reputation for excellence and friendliness. Please use this website as a resource for you, and your child.

School Updates

Information coming soon!

Contact Information

To contact a teacher, find out the teacher's extension in the Staff Directory. (631) 376-7800, press 9, and then follow with the extension number. If the teacher is not available, leave a message on his/her voice mail.

To report a student absence, call (631) 376-7875

May graphic

Announcements

Video: A Look at Outdoor Lessons at JFK

Date Added: 5/23/2023

John F. Kennedy Students ‘Chalk the Walk’

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week from May 8-12, students at John F. Kennedy Elementary School thanked their teachers by “Chalking the Walk” leading up to the school’s entrance. Teachers and staff members were greeted with positive messages of gratitude, written on the school’s walkways in chalk, when they entered the building on May 8.

Date Added: 5/22/2023

Wellness Wins in West Babylon

The West Babylon School District and community members came together to celebrate a healthy lifestyle during the district’s annual Wellness Expo and Fun Run on May 15 at West Babylon Junior High School. The event is organized by the district’s Wellness Committee to support the overall health and fitness of students and the community. Parent Teacher Associations set up different activity stations for the students to enjoy. Local vendors and community-based organizations had tables around the outside of the track for participants to visit. Different fun run races took place throughout the evening organized by grade level. Community members were asked to bring a nonperishable food item for donation to the West Babylon Food Pantry.

Click here to view the photo slideshow.

Date Added: 5/16/2023

Student Council Holds Successful Band-Aid Drive

The student council at John F. Kennedy Elementary School recently held a Band-Aid drive. The student council collected more than 250 boxes of Band-Aids. These donations will be delivered to the pediatric unit at Good Samaritan Hospital. The class with the highest collection was Ms. Prendergast & Mr. Galletta’s class with 47 boxes collected.

Date Added: 5/12/2023

Students Paint Colorful Landscape Designs

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Fifth grade artists in Mr. Fensterer’s class at John F. Kennedy Elementary School used different materials to create their own colorful landscape designs. After looking at landscape designs for inspiration, the students used watercolor paints, crayons, markers and more to create their unique masterpieces.

Date Added: 5/8/2023

Creative Games Reinforce Math Skills

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Students in Mrs. DeGennaro’s fourth grade enrichment group at John F. Kennedy Elementary School worked in teams to create their own math board game. Students brainstormed many ideas to decide what the math concept would be, what kinds of math would be involved in their game as well as what materials they would need to create their board game. Students worked together to complete the challenge, including writing clear directions that would be easy for others to follow. The students then shared their games with the entire fourth grade, allowing their peers to play the games they created. All the fourth graders were engaged, practicing the many math concepts embedded into the games.

Click here to view the slideshow.

Date Added: 5/5/2023

Sharing a Love of Reading

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April 23-29 is National Library Week and the students at John F. Kennedy Elementary School are showing off their love for books. This year’s theme is “there’s more to the story,” and students created hearts to show off what they love about their library and reading. The decorated hearts lined the walls of the library.

During their library classes, students learned about the public library and the different library activities beyond just reading. The John F. Kennedy Elementary School library held a contest for students to guess how many books were in the library. Winners received a free STEM period in the library. Students also created their own bookmarks and were encouraged to explore all the library’s offerings.

Date Added: 5/3/2023

Celebrating Mother Earth

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Fifth graders in Ms. Cardone’s class at John F. Kennedy Elementary School recently celebrated Mother Earth by learning all about Earth Day. The students read articles about the Industrial Revolution, how it led to pollution and the inception of Earth Day. They created posters that reflected the wants and needs of the planet and included the information they learned on how to save the environment.

Date Added: 5/1/2023

Poetry Takes Shape at John F. Kennedy

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Fifth graders at John F. Kennedy Elementary School have been studying and analyzing different poets and craft techniques they used. Using critical thinking skills and creativity, the students took those poetic devices and created their own shape poems. The fifth graders collaborated with their partners to come up with a concept for their poem. They were tasked with using a variety of craft techniques in their poem including imagery, similes, symbolism and metaphors.

Date Added: 4/14/2023