Mount Kisco Students Make Community Proud with Research Presentations

The fifth-grade wing of Mount Kisco Elementary School was bustling with activity as family members moved through classrooms listening to students excitedly present their research about specific ecosystems.

“Over the past several months, fifth graders have been researching and studying ecosystems in depth as part of their literacy unit,” said English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher Marissa Kukis. “They have applied their learning to create thoughtful and engaging presentations that highlight their understanding of how ecosystems function and the important relationships within them.”

Since Mount Kisco Elementary is a dual language bilingual education school, students learn everything in both English and Spanish—and they presented in both languages as well.

“Look at the pictures, and it will help you understand the Spanish,” a student said to English-speaking community members, sharing a helpful reading comprehension tool.

In another classroom, a student distilled the information she learned into an easily digestible explanation while she spoke to a parent.

“A decomposer is kind of like a dog that eats the leftovers,” Bella explained. Bella researched ocean ecosystems and was very passionate about her findings.

“We learned about decomposers, producers, plants, animals, and climate geography,” she said. “I learned that there are a lot of animals in the ocean. There are also a lot of problems—like garbage. A lot of animals are becoming extinct, and I want to start a program to help.”

Students had a choice of researching oceans, deserts, or rainforests.

“Oceans really stood out for me,” said Valerie. “I love learning about them and turning my notes into sentences.”

Like Bella and Valerie, many of the students enjoyed the project and were fascinated by their findings.

“Until I researched this, I didn’t know that rainforests are the most important medical resource in the world,” said Andres.

“You’re not going to believe this,” said Saige excitedly. She then switched to speaking Spanish to explain that between 15-45 trees are cut down in the world every second.

Students were surprised at how much they enjoyed working on the project, with many noting how eager they were to present their research.

“Taking notes and writing them in my own words was more fun than I thought,” said Luis. “At the time it felt boring, but it became much more fun. I was excited about presenting.”

Olivia relished the fact that she needed to find information from a variety of places.

“Researching was really fun because we could use a lot of different sources. We used books, an AI app, and websites. I had to read a million books, but it was actually really fun.”

Valentina noted how sometimes using multiple sources helped her comprehension of some of the more difficult concepts.

“I didn’t know where to start, but when you spend a lot of time on something, it’s great,” she said. “I read a lot of books. One book didn’t explain things very well, so I asked AI and started to understand it better on my own.”

For Alexa, the challenge was researching in a language she’s not as confident in.

“It was very difficult for me to look for the information in English, but I loved this project,” she said. “I hope we do more projects like this in the future.”

Alexa and her peers persevered through challenges and created presentations they were incredibly proud of. They spoke with authority on their topics in both languages and impressed their families as well as school staff. As an added bonus, they presented to kindergartners, modeling how to be effective communicators—which is one of the important skills in the district’s Portrait of a Graduate.

“We were so proud to celebrate our fifth graders during their ecosystem unit presentations, where their learning truly came to life!” said Principal Eleana Rojas. “It was especially meaningful to see them share their knowledge with families and with their peers—our kindergarteners—who looked on with curiosity and excitement. As mentors and role models, our fifth graders inspired our youngest learners through their confidence, collaboration, and passion for learning, reminding us of the powerful sense of community and growth that defines MKES.”