Brook Avenue hosts carnival-style Math Night; teachers share materials statewide

Brook Avenue School math support teachers Annie Mack and Kelly Rivera presented to the Bayshore Union Free School District on a carnival-themed Math Night that the presenters said drew more than 50 families and emphasized hands-on, student-centered activities.

Mack and Rivera told the board the event replaced the typical parent-centered format with game-based stations to increase family attendance, diversify participating families and reduce math anxiety. “We would like to present on an exciting initiative that we had at our school, which was our past math night,” Mack said, introducing the presentation they later delivered at the i-Ready symposium in Verona, N.Y.

The presenters said the district’s Brook Avenue event ran across three rooms — gymnasium, library and cafeteria — and featured about 15 activity stations including counting ring toss, addition-to-20 ring toss, subtraction bowling, a money fishbowl to practice counting coins up to $1, a “friends of 10” lucky duck game, CyberMath computer stations, Math Story Corner, 2-D and 3-D shape building, pattern bracelet making, and kindergarten-focused marshmallow counting and Build-a-City activities. Materials and signage for the event were translated into Spanish for English-language-learner families, and organizers distributed take-home packets with strategies and a laminated work mat for continued practice at home.

Organizers said the event used clear signage and maps, differentiated activities by grade and skill level, offered small prizes to motivate students, and provided QR codes linking educators to a shared Google Drive folder containing posters, task cards, graphic organizers and decorations. Mack and Rivera said roughly 50 educators attended their Verona workshop, where they gave away the materials; attendees were invited to contribute additional resources to a community folder to share ideas across districts.

District staff who introduced the presenters said they hoped the program could scale beyond Bayshore. Board members and staff praised the presentation and suggested submitting it for statewide recognition; one board member suggested the New York State School Boards presentation in Manhattan as an outlet for the work.

The presentation emphasized family engagement as a goal: giving parents insight into classroom practice, strengthening family-school partnerships, and offering strategies for practicing math at home. The presenters said the activity designs can be adapted for upper elementary and middle-school levels and noted that the carnival approach aimed to create a low-pressure, socially supportive setting for learning.

The presenters asked that other educators use the shared folder resources; they noted the folder already contained at least one outside contribution, which they said indicated the network’s growth. The session concluded with board members thanking the presenters.