Indiana girl asks Newsday readers for help
Kennedy Stackowicz, 12, a seventh-grader from Indiana, is asking Long Islanders for help with a project assigned by her literature teacher April Weisser. Credit: April Weisser
Long Islanders: A 12-year-old girl from Indiana needs our help.
For a school project, seventh-grader Kennedy Stackowicz is asking us to write her with our favorite things about New York and fun places for visitors to check out. She’s also interested in local history.
Kennedy's literature class at Queen of Peace Catholic School in Mishawaka, Indiana, read the novel “The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963,” about an African-American family from Michigan and their road trip to visit their grandmother in Alabama during the civil rights era.
Then, the 25 students in the class each chose a state and wrote letters to newspapers asking for responses from their readers that they will turn into a slide presentation. Kennedy picked New York, and sent one of her letters to Newsday.
“My mom grew up in Sayville,” says Kennedy, whose mother’s maiden name was Mary Pascariello. Kennedy has been to Long Island to spend time with her mom’s side of the family and has visited New York City, Southampton and Montauk. “I’m going there this summer, and I’d like to know what fun things to do.” She says her mom has promised that if she hears suggestions from Long Islanders, they would check out some of the places.
The class has so far heard from people in Tennessee, Alabama, Maine, Washington state, Arizona, Vermont and Colorado, says Kennedy’s teacher April Weisser. “We got our first letter today from Hawaii,” she says.
Long Islanders can send letters to Kennedy via Weisser’s email at aweisser@queenofpeace.cc or mail them to her at Queen of Peace School, 4508 Vistula Rd., Mishawaka, Indiana, 46544. Kennedy needs the suggestions as soon as possible, as June 4 is the last day of school there.
