Co-Authored by: Susannah Meyer and Marion Goldberg
On Wednesday, October 17th, 2010, all the middle schoolers visited P.S. 96 for community service day. When the Hewitt girls arrived, the teachers divided them by grade level. Seventh graders were paired with pre-k. The fourth, fifth and sixth graders were assigned with the kindergarten and first grade students, and the eighth graders were put with fourth graders. When the Hewitt students got there they were greeted by the children’s welcoming smiles.
The eighth grade’s day began when they read Stone Soup to the fourth graders. After the story, the children reflected on the reading and were asked questions about the themes of the story, including the importance of sharing.
Next, each eighth grader from Hewitt paired up with a fourth grader from P.S.96. In those groups, they made corn pins and cards to give to their teachers for Thanksgiving in order to show their appreciation.
Meanwhile, the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders were reading stories and making placemats and cards for Meals on Wheels as gifts for their recipients on Thanksgiving.
Towards the end of the day, students and teachers shared their opinions on what they did. Carlos, a fourth grader from P.S. 96, shared that “I Like making the cards because coloring is fun.”
Another said, “I liked everything. I love my buddy!”
Ashley Raynes, an eighth grader from Hewitt, said, “The day was a lot of fun. It felt good making the kids smile, knowing we had brightened their day.”
Carrie Starr, the organizer of the event and a fourth grade teacher, said, “We’ve been going to P.S. 96 for four years, and we have established a relationship with the teachers and the administration at that school.”
When asked why she likes spending time at P.S. 96, Ms. Starr responded, “I think that the best part of our program is working with younger students to teach them about ways to serve the community. I also really like when I see the Hewitt girls, for a period of time, really setting aside their daily drama of being in school, and really putting everything aside for a couple of hours to make an effort to help the kids.”