The winter recess is over, and students across the five boroughs are back in their classrooms and working hard. Many students celebrated the holidays by giving back to their communities.
At Marine Park Intermediate School in Brooklyn, students donated more than $1,000 worth of new toys to the children of military personnel at the Fort Hamilton Army Base. Students also sent more than 70 stockings filled with treats to soldiers serving overseas.
“Many of the students donated their own money to help others this holiday season. This is typical of the type of student we have here at Marine Park Intermediate School,” said teacher Regina Kieran.
Students, staff, and parents at M.S. 45 in the Bronx also collected items for soldiers overseas. Students sent food, packaged snacks, magazines, toiletries, socks, shirts, and other items to help soldiers feel a little closer to home. Many students wrote letters or poems and drew pictures for the soldiers. They also put together a photo album with pictures of the school, students, staff, and community.
"It felt good to be able to do something for the soldiers who are fighting for our freedom. I wish we could have done more,” one student, Rosa, said.
**********************************
Students at Brooklyn’s Mark Twain Intermediate School for the Gifted and Talented participated in several charitable drives. Working in partnership with City Councilmember Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., students collected toys and donated them to day care centers in their neighborhood. As part of the Kids Can Help Week food drive, students collected more than 600 pounds of non-perishable items, and they collected more than 25 bags of coins for Penny Harvest.
**********************************
Many students collected food to ensure that others did not go hungry this holiday season.
Members of P.S. 4 Duke Ellington’s Student Government Organization in Manhattan donated 340 pounds of food to City Harvest. "Doing this makes me feel good because my dad donates food and clothes to a church and this makes me feel like I'm becoming more and more like him,” said Stacey, a fifth-grader. “Giving to people is a good thing!"
Scholars' Academy in Queens donated 3,500 pounds of canned food to the organization. To generate awareness, competition, and publicity during this community service campaign, student organizers kept a record of their donations posted outside each homeroom.
The Student Council of P.S. 222 in Marine Park, Brooklyn also organized a food drive for City Harvest. “It was fun and a big responsibility,” a fifth-grader, Miguel Padilla, said. “I know there are people who need it more than me. It just felt good.”
“It made me feel good to be part of the food drive because I know that people are hungry and they don’t have to be,” another fifth-grader, Madison Muniz, added. The school also collected toys for Toys for Tots.
Teachers and students at P.S. 229 Emanuel Kaplan in Queens collected more than 2,500 pounds of food for City Harvest and St. Mary's Food Pantry.
**********************************
The P.S. 255 chorus paid a visit to the local firehouse in Brooklyn to bring some holiday cheer to the firefighters. The students sang a variety of songs and the school’s violinists performed as well. The children had just completed their performance when the firefighters had to rush out on a call.
**********************************
For the second year in a row, students from Staten Island’s P.S. 1 collected toys for their pre-kindergarten and kindergarten peers at nearby P.S. 31.
“Our students are thrilled to make the holidays brighter for these students. It makes the spirit of the season come alive for them,” P.S. 1’s principal, Diane Gordin, said.
“The children were so surprised when they saw and opened the presents. It made me feel good inside because I was helping a child,” a P.S. 1 student, Raymond Kitchen, said.
Patricia Covington, principal of P.S. 31, cried tears of joy as she thanked the students for remembering the children of P.S. 31. One kindergartner smiled brightly as he struggled to carry a remote control truck that was almost as big as he was. Another child gushed, “Thank you, Santa,” several times as he left the cafeteria with an armful of holiday toys.
**********************************
Students from Isaac Bildersee Intermediate School 68’s Entrepreneurship Club brought holiday cheer, along with gift baskets and handmade holiday cards, to residents of the Four Seasons nursing home in Canarsie.
“We had a lot of fun,” a seventh-grader, Diandra Craig, said. “We made lots of the residents smile.”
**********************************
The Glamour Gals club at Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School in Queens gave holiday makeovers to residents at the Margaret Tietz Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Glamour Gals is a not-for-profit organization that works to bridge intergenerational gaps between students and residents of senior homes.