Suffolk students gather funds, goods for hurricane victims
Students at Blue Point Elementary School collected school supplies in association with the Adopt-a-Classroom program for victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas. Credit: Bayport-Blue Point School
Hurricane victims in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and Anguilla are continuing to receive assistance from Long Island students.
Local schools have hosted dozens of fundraisers — ranging from collections of spare change to bracelet sales to school supply drives — to help provide relief to families affected by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
Moriches Elementary School collected enough school supplies to fill 10 large boxes during a two-week drive to benefit students in Anguilla, a British territory in the Caribbean. Shipping was free through the school’s partnership with the New York branch of the nonprofit Anguilla People Living Overseas.
“We chose Anguilla because it’s one of the lesser-known islands that suffered a catastrophic direct hit from Hurricane Irma,” said James Lollo, who teaches English as a new language and spearheaded the drive.
In Dix Hills, Half Hollow Hills High School East’s National Art Honor Society collected three cartloads of essentials to send to Florida through Island Harvest in Mineola. Meanwhile, three teachers at Half Hollow Hills High School West adopted a classroom at Cypress Creek High School in Houston through TeachersofTomorrow.org.
In Commack, sales of mums and flags raised $1,200 to benefit Puerto Rico through the nonprofit GlobalGiving as part of a fundraiser by the high school’s Spanish Honor Society and World Languages Department and the middle school’s student government.
In Bridgehampton, each grade at Ross Lower School participated in a relief project, from crafting dog blankets to making cards of encouragement for schools in Florida.
EAST NORTHPORT
Costume collection
Fifth-graders at Dickinson Avenue Elementary School collected enough new and gently used Halloween costumes last month to fill 10 large bags for children at a homeless shelter in Brentwood.
To spread the word, Dickinson Avenue students promoted the costume drive through the school’s daily announcements and visited classrooms to explain the collection’s importance to their peers. In addition, many kids gave up recess periods to prepare costumes for delivery to the shelter’s 350 kids, who held a costume parade on Halloween.
RIVERHEAD
Meditation Club
Riverhead Middle School has launched a weekly meditation club to give students the opportunity to engage in mindfulness activities outside of the school day.
The sessions start with a discussion of topics such as daily stressors that kids face and techniques to handle those. Students then practice guided breathing techniques and sensory activities — for example, a mindful eating meditation to become attuned to the taste and texture of Hershey’s Kisses.
“It’s crucial for students to have the opportunity to create their own space and observe what their minds are doing,” club adviser Darren Dunn said.
COUNTYWIDE
Red Ribbon Week
Thousands of Long Island students agreed to avoid drugs and alcohol last month during celebrations of Red Ribbon Week from Oct. 23 to 27.
In Shoreham, the Albert G. Prodell Middle School Student Council created a PowerPoint presentation that included information on the awareness campaign’s history and mission. The school also hosted a poster contest and clothing theme days such as a Don’t Get Tied into Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Day, in which students wore neckties to school.
In Copiague, Great Neck Road Elementary School’s classes pledged to stay drug-free by signing a banner displayed in a school hallway. They also participated in their own theme days, such as wearing shirts backward to “turn their backs on drugs,” school officials said.
In Brookhaven, students learned the importance of healthy choices — such as eating fruits and vegetables and knowing the difference between drugs and medicine — during assemblies at Brookhaven Elementary School.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
