E.J. Russell Elementary School

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

is one of four operated by the Pine Bush Central School District

Pine Bush Central School District

The Pine Bush Central School District is in Pine Bush, New York, United States, and spans all of the Town of Crawford and includes part of six other townships in Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster counties. The student enrollment for the district is over 6,200. The district was established in 1938...

. It is located on Holland Avenue in a residential neighborhood of the hamlet of Pine Bush

Pine Bush, New York

Pine Bush is a hamlet located in the Town of Crawford, and Shawangunk, New York, in Orange/Ulster Counties, New York, U.S., roughly coterminous with the 12566 ZIP code and 744 telephone exchange in the 845 area code Pine Bush is a hamlet (and census-designated place) located in the Town of...

.

Although it is located in Orange County

Orange County, New York

Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...

, like all the other Pine Bush schools it serves students from the entire, very large district, which includes portions of neighboring Sullivan

Sullivan County, New York

Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 77,547. The county seat is Monticello. The name is in honor of Major General John Sullivan, who was a hero in the American Revolutionary War...

 and Ulster

Ulster County, New York

Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...

 counties as well as all the Town of Crawford

Crawford, New York

Crawford is a town in Orange County, New York, USA. The population was 7,875 at the 2000 census. The name comes a settler who gave his name to a community in the town now called Pine Bush....

, the Circleville

Circleville, New York

Circleville, New York is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Wallkill, part of Orange County, New York, USA. It is located on NY 302 around the junction with the old Goshen Turnpike , a short distance north of NY 17 and two miles south of Bullville...

 area of the Town of Wallkill

Wallkill, Orange County, New York

Wallkill is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 24,659 at the 2000 census.The Town of Wallkill is centrally located in the county. Interstate 84 crosses New York State Route 17 in the southern part of the town. U.S...

 and some parts of other neighboring towns. It educates students in pre-kindergarten

Pre-Kindergarten

Pre-kindergarten refers to the first formal academic classroom-based learning environment that a child customarily attends in the United States. It begins between the ages of 3-5 depending on the length of the program...

 through fifth grade

Fifth grade

Fifth grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The fifth grade is the fifth school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 10 – 11 years old, and are preteens...

. Student teams from the school have competed in the international Odyssey of the Mind

Odyssey of the Mind

Odyssey of the Mind, often called OM , is a creative problem-solving competition involving students from kindergarten through college. Team members work together at length to solve a predefined problem ; and present their solution to the problem at a competition...

 championships, along with teams from Pine Bush Elementary School

Pine Bush Elementary School

Pine Bush Elementary School is one of four operated by the Pine Bush Central School District in Orange County, New York, USA. It is located a short distance off NY 302 on Ulsterville Road south of Pine Bush, not far from Pine Bush High School....

.

In 2003, a minor controversy erupted at the school when boys reported seeing a video camera

Video camera

A video camera is a camera used for electronic motion picture acquisition, initially developed by the television industry but now common in other applications as well. The earliest video cameras were those of John Logie Baird, based on the electromechanical Nipkow disk and used by the BBC in...

 in one bathroom. It was a fake

Fake

Fake means not real.Fake may also refer to:In music:* Fake , a Swedish synthpop band active in the 1980s*Fake?, a Japanese rock band* Fake , 2010 song by Ai featuring Namie Amuro...

, without tape, placed there to deter ongoing vandalism

Vandalism

Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...

in the restroom. School district officials quickly removed the camera and apologized for the incident.